President's letter

Hey, welcome to October, which in CCW-land means BOOKTOBERFEST.

By the time you read this letter, I, hopefully, will have a list of readers for Booktoberfest. They will be presenting at our meeting on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.

Booktoberfest is when members read aloud from something they have published in the last eighteen months. Participants share for five to seven minutes a few pages from said published work. The length of each reading depends on how many volunteers I get. (If you’re interested, let me know, I might be able to get you onto the program.)

Reading aloud from one’s work is a small part of the major issue of publicizing and marketing your writing. We all want to be left alone to write, but, alas, reality  intrudes—we have to sell what we write.

One of the strongest pillars in marketing, besides a good book, is acquiring a list of followers who are interested in the subject your book covers.

I have in NO WAY done more than dip my toe into the treacherous pool of publicity (inhabited, I suspect, by plague bearing organisms and carnivorous, prehistoric monsters.) but I have acquired a couple of facts.

Writers need FOLLOWERS who are interested in the type of book they are writing.

Followers (and their emails) are usually acquired on websites where writers can write about their topics or attach YouTube videos discussing the subjects covered in their books (even fiction).

An example would be if Dickens were alive today and getting ready to publish Tale of Two Cities. Months in advance his website and YouTube videos would cover such topics as the Bastille prison, droit de seigneur, English court systems, and guillotines. He would acquire followers with their email addresses. When his book was about to be published he would inform his followers, who, given their interests, are likely to buy such a book.

If your book is about cooking Cajun style, your YouTube videos would show you demonstrating the creation of various Cajun dishes.

Another example is if your detective is ex-military with baggage, your website could discuss and publicize help for vets, support for family and spouses, veterans’ organizations, or even live interviews with other vets. Again, when the publication date approaches, the writer has an email list of people interested in a mystery where the main character is a veteran, with physical or emotional challenges, trying to make a living as a detective.

Hopefully, you will have an email list when you announce your publication date.

I found that making the decision to have an online presence was not easy. In retrospect it would have helped if I had brainstormed possible topics to cover and started researching them. I’m doing that now and finding myself getting excited about the whole idea.

Meanwhile

Be ye planners or pantsers

remember to—-

Keep writing,

Sarah E. Pruitt

CCW President