"Never knock on Death's door: ring the bell and run away! Death really hates that!"
-- Matt Frewer
Saturday, 29 January 2011
Thursday, 27 January 2011
A Mini E-Roundup
The first resource I'm going to point you to (all you mystery and thriller authors, pay attention!) is All Mystery! eNewsletter. To quote the site:
This is a published monthly e-newsletter that features a variety of authors from the august veterans to the rising stars of tomorrow.
Each issue has a fun theme to tickle your imagination: British authors, exotic locations, paranormal detectives, historical mysteries, and romantic suspense, to name a few.
I feature three or four authors and include the following:
* Colorful book covers with click through to the author website
* Book description
* A few reviews of the book
* Buy Now click-throughs to a variety of buying sources: a small bookstore, B&N , Amazon, publisher
Could be a good place for mystery writer types to promote their work. (And hat tip to Timothy Hallinan for that resource.)
And here's an article that had me asking, "What the heck is a quora anyway and why should I care?"
Also, here's a Mystery Scene Magazine article in which electronic media is discussed in much broader terms, with a brief mention in one paragraph at the end for books. My, how desperately the author seems to be grasping at straws in defense of printed books. Using statistics and everything. And, um, "even Kindle needs source material"? What? I'm sorry. Where have you been, Gary Phillips? Your statement reveals that you don't know that many authors are bypassing or delaying print publication and publishing straight to ebooks now. Apparently.
And finally this Writer Beware blog post which cautions us that just because one ebook author is a raging success that doesn't mean every ebook author is going to be a raging success, too.
How can I say this politely? I can't. Well, duh!
PS: Scan the comments. Most of them are a waste of time, but look for Joe Konrath's. Clear, concise and on the mark.
This is a published monthly e-newsletter that features a variety of authors from the august veterans to the rising stars of tomorrow.
Each issue has a fun theme to tickle your imagination: British authors, exotic locations, paranormal detectives, historical mysteries, and romantic suspense, to name a few.
I feature three or four authors and include the following:
* Colorful book covers with click through to the author website
* Book description
* A few reviews of the book
* Buy Now click-throughs to a variety of buying sources: a small bookstore, B&N , Amazon, publisher
Could be a good place for mystery writer types to promote their work. (And hat tip to Timothy Hallinan for that resource.)
And here's an article that had me asking, "What the heck is a quora anyway and why should I care?"
Also, here's a Mystery Scene Magazine article in which electronic media is discussed in much broader terms, with a brief mention in one paragraph at the end for books. My, how desperately the author seems to be grasping at straws in defense of printed books. Using statistics and everything. And, um, "even Kindle needs source material"? What? I'm sorry. Where have you been, Gary Phillips? Your statement reveals that you don't know that many authors are bypassing or delaying print publication and publishing straight to ebooks now. Apparently.
And finally this Writer Beware blog post which cautions us that just because one ebook author is a raging success that doesn't mean every ebook author is going to be a raging success, too.
How can I say this politely? I can't. Well, duh!
PS: Scan the comments. Most of them are a waste of time, but look for Joe Konrath's. Clear, concise and on the mark.
Saturday, 22 January 2011
Quotation for the Week of January 23
"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia."
-- Charles M. Schulz
-- Charles M. Schulz
Thursday, 20 January 2011
Learning from Direct Mail
A guest post by Rick Holton
Do people in your organization have to persuade others? Perhaps a quick look at direct mail – an extreme case of persuasive writing – will help them improve their writing skills.
Identify Product Characteristics and Target Market
Like any other writer, the direct mail writer has to plan before he writes. He should understand the characteristics of the product or service he is trying to sell and identify the target market and what motivates them.
He should also decide on a focus – whether, for example, to fill a need, create a desire, sell on quality, sell on price or sell competitively.
Organize for a Neutral Audience
Because a direct marketer is able to segment his market – in other words, he writes primarily to people who might potentially agree with his message – he should write for a neutral audience.
One difference from ordinary persuasive writing is that the direct mail audience is much larger, and a success rate of one or two percent is a good day's work.
If you're trying to persuade a single individual, however, you want a success rate of 100 percent. If you know that the person you're writing to disagrees with you, organize for a hostile audience – put your conclusion first and then your arguments.
Get the Reader's Attention
In a direct mail piece, you have a second or two to get the reader's attention. The reader will look first at the P.S., comments handwritten in the margins, call outs, and words or short phrases in boldface type.
Once you have the reader's attention, you can create interest by adding concrete detail, using, for example, statistics ("8 out of 10 dentists recommend...") or referring to well-known people or companies who may have used your product.
Involve the Reader
Be sure to use the "You Attitude" – look at the situation from the reader's point of view, and demonstrate why your message is important to the reader.
If you are publicizing a conference, for example, don't say, "Speakers will talk about minimizing fuel costs." Say instead, "Learn how to minimize your fuel costs." And no mailbox sweepstakes will ever say, "We have selected six winners." They will always say instead, "You could be one of our six winners."
Make the Action Step as Easy as Possible
In the action segment, you want to overcome reader inertia. Consequently, you will want to make the audience task as easy as possible. You do this by enclosing a business reply card, by giving a deadline, or by offering a bonus or discount to those who respond promptly.
Although they would not write to an individual the same way they would write a direct mail piece, people in your organization should benefit from applying the above principles to their daily writing tasks.
Rick Holton is owner of The Holton Group, which specializes in business writing and consulting.
Do people in your organization have to persuade others? Perhaps a quick look at direct mail – an extreme case of persuasive writing – will help them improve their writing skills.
Identify Product Characteristics and Target Market
Like any other writer, the direct mail writer has to plan before he writes. He should understand the characteristics of the product or service he is trying to sell and identify the target market and what motivates them.
He should also decide on a focus – whether, for example, to fill a need, create a desire, sell on quality, sell on price or sell competitively.
Organize for a Neutral Audience
Because a direct marketer is able to segment his market – in other words, he writes primarily to people who might potentially agree with his message – he should write for a neutral audience.
One difference from ordinary persuasive writing is that the direct mail audience is much larger, and a success rate of one or two percent is a good day's work.
If you're trying to persuade a single individual, however, you want a success rate of 100 percent. If you know that the person you're writing to disagrees with you, organize for a hostile audience – put your conclusion first and then your arguments.
Get the Reader's Attention
In a direct mail piece, you have a second or two to get the reader's attention. The reader will look first at the P.S., comments handwritten in the margins, call outs, and words or short phrases in boldface type.
Once you have the reader's attention, you can create interest by adding concrete detail, using, for example, statistics ("8 out of 10 dentists recommend...") or referring to well-known people or companies who may have used your product.
Involve the Reader
Be sure to use the "You Attitude" – look at the situation from the reader's point of view, and demonstrate why your message is important to the reader.
If you are publicizing a conference, for example, don't say, "Speakers will talk about minimizing fuel costs." Say instead, "Learn how to minimize your fuel costs." And no mailbox sweepstakes will ever say, "We have selected six winners." They will always say instead, "You could be one of our six winners."
Make the Action Step as Easy as Possible
In the action segment, you want to overcome reader inertia. Consequently, you will want to make the audience task as easy as possible. You do this by enclosing a business reply card, by giving a deadline, or by offering a bonus or discount to those who respond promptly.
Although they would not write to an individual the same way they would write a direct mail piece, people in your organization should benefit from applying the above principles to their daily writing tasks.
Rick Holton is owner of The Holton Group, which specializes in business writing and consulting.
Saturday, 15 January 2011
Quotation for the Week of January 16
"Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men."
-- Martin Luther King Jr.
-- Martin Luther King Jr.
Thursday, 13 January 2011
I Just Love Studies
Sisters in Crime recently commissioned a study of mystery book consumers in the digital age. There seems to be a lot of hoopla about the results.
As a (proud and long-time) member of said organization, I've been encouraged to share the contents of this study, by tweeting, Facebooking and blogging or whatever other means I have at my disposal, so I am.
First, if you want to read the study, just click here.
Second, I'll share the study's key findings (along with a few of my reactions to the findings in brackets):
Demographics:
• For all genres, not just mystery, women continue to buy the majority of books, but men’s share of books is higher in dollars than in units.
• Baby boomers and matures (people over 45) purchase over half of all books bought.
• In the “mystery-detective” category, women and older buyers are even more highly represented.
• Mystery buyers tend to be
o Mostly female – 7 out of 10 are women
o More mature– nearly 7 out of 10 are over 45
[Okay, let's pause for a moment. Is anyone surprised? Isn't all of this conventional wisdom so far? But let's keep going and see where this leads.]
Retail Channels:
• Mystery buying is not only about chains or online retailers.
o 11% of units are sold through book clubs.
o 6% of units are sold through independents.
[Which leaves a hefty 83% of buying from chains or online retailers, then, thank you.]
• Mysteries are mainly purchased in stores, followed by borrowing from the library, followed by purchasing online.
[Well, what a surprise -- not!]
• 47% of books bought by men are purchased in a retail store.
[Ditto.]
• E-books play an increasingly larger role
[Well, duh.]
o 7.0% of purchases in Q2 2010, increased from 1.7% in Q2 2009.
• Book clubs attract more females than males.
• Around 20% of all readers acquire their mysteries at libraries.
• Online retailers mostly attract readers under the age of 40.
• Only 12% of readers 60 and older bought books from online retailers.
• 13% of readers 60 and older acquired a mystery through book clubs such as Mystery Guild.
Marketing and Awareness:
• Browsing bookshelves is no longer the only way readers become aware of mystery titles.
• Book clubs such as Mystery Guild remain one of the top ways readers become aware of mystery titles.
• The majority of mystery buyers are over 50 and not as influenced by online marketing methods as readers under 50.
[Okay, how many times could I have copied and pasted "No kidding!" or "Well, duh!" or variations on that theme?]
[Seriously, is any of this really surprising?]
[Anyhow, FWIW, here's the big wrap-up.]
Mystery Reading Behavior Overall:
• 68% of mysteries are purchased by women.
• Over half the mysteries purchased are sold to people over the age of 55.
• 19% of all readers acquire mysteries at libraries.
• 11% of all mysteries are sold through book clubs such as Mystery Guild.
• 39% of all mysteries are purchased in stores.
• 35% of mysteries are purchased by people who live in the South.
• 77% of mysteries are purchased by households with no children at home.
• 48% of mysteries are purchased by readers who live in suburban areas.
• E-book sales are growing fast. In 2009, 1.7% of books sold were e-books. In Q2 of 2010, 7% of books sold were e-books.
• Readers under 40 look for dark, suspenseful stories.
• Readers under 40 don’t see mysteries as distinct from other genres as older readers do.
• Readers over 60 are more loyal to the author or character than younger readers.
• Readers enjoy mysteries to solve the puzzle. They also love surprises, thrills, and suspense.
• Name recognition still influences readers to buy popular authors.
• Readers are attracted by appealing book covers.
• Readers want a preview of story elements before they buy.
Now, can you imagine? Readers actually enjoy surprises, thrills and suspense? Unbelievable. And book covers. Who knew appealing ones mattered? And this name recognition thing. What do they call it? Um, branding? You mean it applies to books? Inconceivable!
And I'd care more about all that demographic data if I weren't doing quite nicely selling ebooks online where none of those numbers really matter.
Sorry, Sisters. Just sayin'. :)
As a (proud and long-time) member of said organization, I've been encouraged to share the contents of this study, by tweeting, Facebooking and blogging or whatever other means I have at my disposal, so I am.
First, if you want to read the study, just click here.
Second, I'll share the study's key findings (along with a few of my reactions to the findings in brackets):
Demographics:
• For all genres, not just mystery, women continue to buy the majority of books, but men’s share of books is higher in dollars than in units.
• Baby boomers and matures (people over 45) purchase over half of all books bought.
• In the “mystery-detective” category, women and older buyers are even more highly represented.
• Mystery buyers tend to be
o Mostly female – 7 out of 10 are women
o More mature– nearly 7 out of 10 are over 45
[Okay, let's pause for a moment. Is anyone surprised? Isn't all of this conventional wisdom so far? But let's keep going and see where this leads.]
Retail Channels:
• Mystery buying is not only about chains or online retailers.
o 11% of units are sold through book clubs.
o 6% of units are sold through independents.
[Which leaves a hefty 83% of buying from chains or online retailers, then, thank you.]
• Mysteries are mainly purchased in stores, followed by borrowing from the library, followed by purchasing online.
[Well, what a surprise -- not!]
• 47% of books bought by men are purchased in a retail store.
[Ditto.]
• E-books play an increasingly larger role
[Well, duh.]
o 7.0% of purchases in Q2 2010, increased from 1.7% in Q2 2009.
• Book clubs attract more females than males.
• Around 20% of all readers acquire their mysteries at libraries.
• Online retailers mostly attract readers under the age of 40.
• Only 12% of readers 60 and older bought books from online retailers.
• 13% of readers 60 and older acquired a mystery through book clubs such as Mystery Guild.
Marketing and Awareness:
• Browsing bookshelves is no longer the only way readers become aware of mystery titles.
• Book clubs such as Mystery Guild remain one of the top ways readers become aware of mystery titles.
• The majority of mystery buyers are over 50 and not as influenced by online marketing methods as readers under 50.
[Okay, how many times could I have copied and pasted "No kidding!" or "Well, duh!" or variations on that theme?]
[Seriously, is any of this really surprising?]
[Anyhow, FWIW, here's the big wrap-up.]
Mystery Reading Behavior Overall:
• 68% of mysteries are purchased by women.
• Over half the mysteries purchased are sold to people over the age of 55.
• 19% of all readers acquire mysteries at libraries.
• 11% of all mysteries are sold through book clubs such as Mystery Guild.
• 39% of all mysteries are purchased in stores.
• 35% of mysteries are purchased by people who live in the South.
• 77% of mysteries are purchased by households with no children at home.
• 48% of mysteries are purchased by readers who live in suburban areas.
• E-book sales are growing fast. In 2009, 1.7% of books sold were e-books. In Q2 of 2010, 7% of books sold were e-books.
• Readers under 40 look for dark, suspenseful stories.
• Readers under 40 don’t see mysteries as distinct from other genres as older readers do.
• Readers over 60 are more loyal to the author or character than younger readers.
• Readers enjoy mysteries to solve the puzzle. They also love surprises, thrills, and suspense.
• Name recognition still influences readers to buy popular authors.
• Readers are attracted by appealing book covers.
• Readers want a preview of story elements before they buy.
Now, can you imagine? Readers actually enjoy surprises, thrills and suspense? Unbelievable. And book covers. Who knew appealing ones mattered? And this name recognition thing. What do they call it? Um, branding? You mean it applies to books? Inconceivable!
And I'd care more about all that demographic data if I weren't doing quite nicely selling ebooks online where none of those numbers really matter.
Sorry, Sisters. Just sayin'. :)
Sunday, 9 January 2011
Quotation for the Week of January 9
"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."
-- Doctor Who
-- Doctor Who
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Online Master’s Degrees in Writing – How Effective Are They?
A guest post by Mark Davies
Some jobs require you to go to school and college and earn diplomas and degrees, others require a vast amount of knowledge and a high level of skills, and yet others can be done effectively with no formal education or training whatsoever. Writing is one such profession, if you can call it that--for most writers, writing is a passion rather than a profession because it is second nature and comes naturally to them. It's more of a compulsion to pen down thoughts and ideas, and a kind of challenge to come up with their creative best when they do so.
So how effective are educational programs that teach you writing? Or rather, do you really need to go to college in order to learn how to be a good writer? The answer to these questions is not really simple or straightforward. Writing programs and courses do exist and are popular because they obviously generate favorable returns for those who choose to enroll in them. So rather, the question that should be asked is this--do writing programs benefit everyone who joins them?
Writing is a creative art; unlike most other disciplines where you can learn a skill, writing courses do not help you unless you have the innate ability to string a few words together without breaking into a sweat. So if you're considering an online master's writing program, you would probably gain more from it if you've already tried your hand at writing and know that you're good at it.
In general, graduate programs in writing are linked to programs in journalism and creative arts. You're likely to find more programs labeled "journalism" or "fine arts" or "creative arts" rather than those that are tagged "Master's in Writing". The key to achieving the most out of the program you join is to do some research before making your choice. Check out the curriculum and the syllabus before you sign up; talk to others who have taken the course and find out how they rate it in terms of efficacy and acceptance in industries that require you to be a skilled writer before hiring you; and find out if it suits your needs.
If you're looking to hone your writing skills and hoping to write novels, short stories, poetry, screenplays, and the like, you would be better off choosing short-term courses that are tailored to each genre or a group of them. But if you're interested in becoming a journalist, it would be wiser to choose degree programs that focus exclusively on the journalistic trade. Some courses are designed to help good writers improve themselves by identifying their strengths and encouraging them to play to them. Others teach the fringe aspects of writing like editing and fine-tuning copy, and yet others focus on technical and business writing which veers away from the creative and towards the formal.
Writing is a very lucrative career if you're able to publish best-selling books; and even if you're not destined to become a famous author, there are many ways in which freelancers can earn a decent living by writing articles, advertising copy, screenplays, short stories, and other forms of the written word. The web has opened up a host of opportunities for aspiring writers today, so there's no dearth of jobs for those with the right skills and attitude. Most writing jobs do not ask for graduate degrees, so opting for one is a personal choice, not so much one that's professional.
By-line:
This guest post is contributed by Mark Davies, he writes on the topic of Online Masters Degree. He welcomes your comments at his email id: markdavies247<@>gmail<.>com.
Some jobs require you to go to school and college and earn diplomas and degrees, others require a vast amount of knowledge and a high level of skills, and yet others can be done effectively with no formal education or training whatsoever. Writing is one such profession, if you can call it that--for most writers, writing is a passion rather than a profession because it is second nature and comes naturally to them. It's more of a compulsion to pen down thoughts and ideas, and a kind of challenge to come up with their creative best when they do so.
So how effective are educational programs that teach you writing? Or rather, do you really need to go to college in order to learn how to be a good writer? The answer to these questions is not really simple or straightforward. Writing programs and courses do exist and are popular because they obviously generate favorable returns for those who choose to enroll in them. So rather, the question that should be asked is this--do writing programs benefit everyone who joins them?
Writing is a creative art; unlike most other disciplines where you can learn a skill, writing courses do not help you unless you have the innate ability to string a few words together without breaking into a sweat. So if you're considering an online master's writing program, you would probably gain more from it if you've already tried your hand at writing and know that you're good at it.
In general, graduate programs in writing are linked to programs in journalism and creative arts. You're likely to find more programs labeled "journalism" or "fine arts" or "creative arts" rather than those that are tagged "Master's in Writing". The key to achieving the most out of the program you join is to do some research before making your choice. Check out the curriculum and the syllabus before you sign up; talk to others who have taken the course and find out how they rate it in terms of efficacy and acceptance in industries that require you to be a skilled writer before hiring you; and find out if it suits your needs.
If you're looking to hone your writing skills and hoping to write novels, short stories, poetry, screenplays, and the like, you would be better off choosing short-term courses that are tailored to each genre or a group of them. But if you're interested in becoming a journalist, it would be wiser to choose degree programs that focus exclusively on the journalistic trade. Some courses are designed to help good writers improve themselves by identifying their strengths and encouraging them to play to them. Others teach the fringe aspects of writing like editing and fine-tuning copy, and yet others focus on technical and business writing which veers away from the creative and towards the formal.
Writing is a very lucrative career if you're able to publish best-selling books; and even if you're not destined to become a famous author, there are many ways in which freelancers can earn a decent living by writing articles, advertising copy, screenplays, short stories, and other forms of the written word. The web has opened up a host of opportunities for aspiring writers today, so there's no dearth of jobs for those with the right skills and attitude. Most writing jobs do not ask for graduate degrees, so opting for one is a personal choice, not so much one that's professional.
By-line:
This guest post is contributed by Mark Davies, he writes on the topic of Online Masters Degree. He welcomes your comments at his email id: markdavies247<@>gmail<.>com.
Sunday, 2 January 2011
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