• Author Marketing

    What I did during #MFRWorg Summer Camp @AuthorTinaGayle #RLFblog #MFRWcamp

    MFRW Summer Camp 
    Today Tina Gayle shares her take on Marketing for Romance Writers Summer Camp, held last weekend on the Coffee Time Romance forum.
    = = =
    I can’t tell you how excited I was
    for MFRW summer camp to start. Not only had I signed up to give a class, but there
    were so many wonderful classes to take. I love learning new things so I’ve been
    biting at the bit to get started.
    I was blown away with the pre-camp
    class by Kristyn Phipps. She explained how to use Buffer, had pictures and diagrams
    and cyber popcorn…oh, my. Best of all, I was able to read it a day later. I couldn’t
    attend the class on the day she posted it, but managed to learn it a day late. Man,
    how I love internet classes.
    Now with the stage set for camp to
    begin, I had to get my stuff up and going. My class of “Cut the Crap”
    (on editing) needed to be ready to run with the rest of the classes by Friday. I
    had the handout ready and then sat down to fill in all the things that weren’t in
    the outline. It is amazing how a one page outline can morph into pages of explanation.
    I broke the class up into several parts so as not to overwhelm my students and to
    concentrate on one point at a time.
    I posted the new thread and watched
    as the number of views when up. Silly, I know, but I was surprised by the number
    of people who could relate to the points I was making. While I waited for comments
    or questions, I ventured into the other classes.
    Wow, talk about finding useful information.
    From discovering how to form a Street Team group to understanding POV, there were
    classes on so many topics I struggled to read all the information in the time I
    had allotted for camp.
    The best part is that even though
    camp is officially over. I can still go back and read through the parts that I missed.
    Check it out at http://coffeetimeromance.com/board/forumdisplay.php?f=1977&page=4&order=desc
    I can also download all the handouts
    so I can review them later. Check them out at http://marketingforromancewriters.org/camp.htm
    Coffee Time Romance did a wonderful
    job of making this appear seamless. I know it wasn’t, but as an attendee, I had
    no problems with viewing classes or leaving comments.
    Also, there were fun games on Pinterest.
    I didn’t play, not because I didn’t want to, time became a factor for me. My husband
    decided a round of golf was needed to round out his weekend so what can I say, I
    indulged.
    For those of you who didn’t attend
    the camp, I strongly recommend that you check out the above sites and gain what
    you can from some excellent information. RWA is having their national convention
    this week. I have to say summer camp was better. One, it isn’t as expensive (Free
    for the camp.) Two, no crowds. Three, great information, and four, all while living
    in the comfort of your home. What more could you ask for?
    Man, summer camp so rocks, I can’t
    wait till next year.
    Thanks to everyone who made this happen.
    You guys are the best.

    About the Author

    Tina Gayle

    After years of working in
    the business world doing a variety of jobs, she decided to try her hand at writing
    and hope to incorporate the joy of being a mother into her books.
    Currently working on a series
    about four executive wives, she is excited about combining elements of women fiction
    with the passion of romance. The first three books have been released and the last
    one is coming out in 2014.
    Married twenty-five years,
    she and her husband love to travel and play golf. She can’t wait for Mike to retire
    so they can do more of both.
    Read the first chapter of
    any of her books by visiting her website.

    Find Me Here

    Blog http://tinagayle.blogspot.com
    LinkedIn http://linkedin.com/pub/tina-gayle/11/689/759
  • Author Marketing

    MFRW Summer Camp: A Deleted Lesson on Twitter @MFRW_ORG #RLFblog #MFRWcamp

    Marketing for Romance Writers — Summer Camp

    Marketing for Romance Writers Summer Camp 2013

    Join our workshops here:
    http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/board/forumdisplay.php?f=1977
    Sign in, or join. You must also join the MFRW group. We are listed
    at the top of every page. Full instructions for joining are here: http://marketingforromancewriters.org/media/CTRforuminstructions.pdf

    What kinds of things do we teach at camp? See yesterday’s post for a full listing of the schedule. Everything from writing tips to blogging, making the most of Triberr, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. We have podcasting, using Paper.li, and how to handle queries and pitches.
    Here’s a peek at one of the workshops that **did not** make it into this year’s camp.

    Top Ten Tips for Finding #Followers on Twitter

    Whether you’re a reader or a writer, or both (like me) you might have questions
    about Twitter. I have a few answers for you. These are basics, but they have helped
    me, and I hope they help you.

    Do I need an avatar?

    You betcha. Get yourself an avatar, and you’ll start getting new followers.
    Folks without avatars (only the egg showing) are referred to as eggheads on Twitter.
    Spammers don’t usually bother with avatars because they get kicked off so fast,
    so people are wary when they see one. Twitter will let you use almost any picture.
    If you have one for Facebook, you can usually use that.

    Should I tell people I’m on Twitter?

    Absolutely, and give the full URL. Don’t do the @myname thing. Does
    @kayelleallen look cool? Yes. But can you click that? Nope. Always give people a
    clickable link. Want followers? Give people a link to follow and they will. Write
    it out this way: http://twitter.com/kayelleallen

    Where do I put the link?

    Start with your author
    signature in email. Definitely put it on your website and blog. Are you self published?
    Add it to your book in the “about the author” section. If you’re on a
    forum or group, add it to your signature there. Put it in your profiles on other
    social media. List it in print flyers. Put it anywhere your name is going to be
    seen.

    Is it necessary to be on Twitter?

    Here’s my opinion. Are
    you an author? Then yes, it’s necessary. Can you survive without it? Of course.
    But it’s like opening a store downtown and thinking that you don’t need a phone.
    Why wouldn’t you take advantage of one of the most popular tools for sharing information
    in the world? Do you watch TV? Ever notice those little words at the bottom of the
    screen that have a # mark in front? Those are Twitter hashtags. People can share
    info about the show live using those hashtags on Twitter. If Twitter is that popular
    and that much a part of our culture, can you afford not to be there?

    How many followers do I need?

    Your followers will
    talk about your book, help it go viral, and spread the word. Let’s say you have
    100 followers. To make this easy, let’s say each of them has 100 followers. If ten
    of your followers each share a tweet you send out about your book, your one tweet
    just went to 1000 people. Twitter sharing is exponential. Imagine if you have more
    followers and a higher percentage shares a tweet? The reach could be huge. On Twitter,
    you want lots of followers. How many you get is up to you and how much you share
    that’s of interest to your tweeps.

    Where do I find followers?

    Follow people who interest
    you. Here are some easy things that attract followers.
    • Look at the lists others make and consider
      following the people on them.
    • Retweet other people’s info. They may follow
      you back.
    • Tweet 10 things about other people. Then
      one thing about you.
    • People love to be talked about. Say something
      complimentary. They will notice.
    • Spend 10 minutes a day reading and replying
      to random tweets.

    Anything I shouldn’t do on Twitter?

    Yes, and please heed
    these.
    Never send direct messages
    (DMs) unless you are getting in touch
    for a personal reason. People view automatic DMs to new followers as spammy. They
    don’t like it.

    What about those verification programs? Any good?

    I don’t recommend them.
    The systems require your would-be-followers to do an anti-spam thing. If you are
    an author you should want followers. Let them follow you.

    Should I follow everyone back?

    No. Follow people who
    interest you. You don’t have to read every tweet everyone sends — but it’s fun
    to see new material and you’ll get that if you have a lot of followers. I don’t
    recommend using an auto-follow service. Sadly, if you do you’ll inadvertently follow
    spammers.
    MFRW.org

    What’s a hashtag?

    A hashtag is a search
    word on Twitter. It’s a word embedded in the message and marked with a #
    symbol. When you click the word, it triggers a search for the word. You can make
    anything a hashtag. They cannot contain any type of punctuation. 

    Bonus: Remember to have fun.

    Twitter is social media.
    Social means hanging out, having fun, and being natural. Twitter is like sex. If
    you’re not enjoying it, you’re probably doing it wrong, or with the wrong people.
    Lighten up, relax, and do it from the heart. You’ll enjoy it a lot more.

    Find Me Here

    Kayelle Allen is the owner of The Author’s Secret. She’s also a blogger,
    writer of immortal role-playing gamers,
    warriors who purr, and agents who find the unfindable–or hide it forever.
    Blog http://kayelleallen.blogspot.com
  • Author Marketing

    MFRW Summer Camp: Schedule and Workshops @MFRW_ORG #RLFblog #MFRWcamp

    A Taste of Summer Camp 

    What is MFRW? It stands for Marketing for Romance Writers,
    which is a peer group for authors and others in the literary community. Our
    motto is “Seek, teach, share, learn, succeed.”

    The group helps us focus on learning marketing and publicity.
    We seek ways to advance our careers, brainstorm new ventures and ideas, get feedback,
    and find others interested in working together. We provide free workshops. You can
    take a class or teach one.
    We welcome marketing-related material that asks a question, offers
    a promo or idea, or is a request for help, advice, or opinions. We offer opportunities
    to promote and join others in promotional efforts. As fellow authors (published
    and not-yet), publishers, and other members of the literary community, we are your
    support group and co-workers. Need to buy pens, pins, or other goodies? Found a
    great place to do that? We hope you’ll share the news.
    We’re open to the entire literary community. Our writing is not
    discussed; we focus on creating an image and using it effectively. We provide ways
    to learn new ideas, new skills, to gain new opportunities, and share them with others.
    While promotions are not allowed on the Yahoo group, news about
    pitch sessions and calls for submission are. We coordinate pitch events with publishers
    for our members. On Facebook, we promote and share news. We link our blogs via a
    unique software “ribbon” in blog hops. We pin books by members on Pinterest,
    and show off our cover models. We share tweets on Twitter. We interview each other
    on BlogTalkRadio. We’re about to open a Goodreads group. You are welcome to join
    us at all our locations. We offer assistance to our members in every way we can.

    Why? Because we want you to succeed.

    This is our second annual Marketing Summer Camp. This year’s theme is “A Taste of Summer Camp” and we’ve promoted it by sharing recipes on our blogs, Facebook pages, and with tweets. We partnered with Coffee Time Romance to hold the three-day all free conference in their forum. We have volunteer speakers giving classes, and panels on how to promote books. Here is the schedule.

    Friday July 12

    Start — End — Day — Instructor — Class
    12:00 PM — 1:00 PM — Friday — Wt Prater — Podcasting
    1:00 PM — 2:00 PM — Friday — Tonya Callihan — Street Team
    2:00 PM — 3:00 PM — Friday — MFRW Staff — How to Use MFRW’s Promo
    Options
    3:00 PM — 4:00 PM — Friday — Trish Owen — Who’s on First? Handling
    POV
    4:00 PM — 5:00 PM — Friday — Kayelle Allen — Blogging
    5:30 PM — 6:30 PM — Friday — Tina Gayle — Cut the Crap (Editing)
    6:00 PM — 7:00 PM — Friday — Kristyn Phipps — Buffer
    7:00 PM — 8:00 PM — Friday — Killarney Sheffield — Everything I
    Don’t See
    8:00 PM — 9:00 PM — Friday — Kristyn Phipps — Social Media
    9:00 PM — 10:00 PM — Friday — Kristyn Phipps — Paper.li 

    Saturday July 13

    Start — End — Day — Instructor — Class
    8:00 AM — 9:00 AM — Saturday — Kristyn Phipps — Paper.li
    9:00 AM — 10:00 AM — Saturday — Gina Ardito — Hips Don’t Lie (Body
    Language)
    10:00 AM — 11:00 AM — Saturday — Kristyn Phipps — Social Media
    11:00 AM — 12:00 PM — Saturday — Tina Gayle — Cut the Crap (Editing)
    12:00 PM — 1:00 PM — Saturday — Mary Caelsto — Guardian Muse
    1:00 PM — 2:00 PM — Saturday — Wt Prater — Podcasting
    2:00 PM — 3:00 PM — Saturday — Kristyn Phipps — Buffer
    3:00 PM — 4:00 PM — Saturday — Killarney Sheffield — Heroes and
    Heroines
    4:00 PM — 5:00 PM — Saturday — Kayelle Allen — Back to Basics
    5:00 PM — 6:00 PM — Saturday — Karen Cote
    — Pinterest Game
    6:00 PM — 7:00 PM — Saturday — Monica — Log Lines
    7:00 PM — 8:00 PM — Saturday — Ann Siracusa — I Wish I’d Known
    Before I Published 

    Sunday July 14

    Start — End — Day — Instructor — Class
    2:00 PM — 3:00 PM — Sunday — Wt Prater — Podcasting
    3:00 PM — 4:00 PM — Sunday — Trish Owen — POV
    4:00 PM — 5:00 PM — Sunday — Tina Gayle — Cut the Crap
    5:00 PM — 6:00 PM — Sunday — Ann Siracusa — Career Planning
    6:00 PM — 7:00 PM — Sunday — Mary Wilson — Query & Pitches
    7:00 PM — 8:00 PM — Sunday — Kristyn Phipps — Social Media
    8:00 PM — 9:00 PM — Sunday — Kristyn Phipps — Paper.li
    9:00 PM — 10:00 PM — Sunday — Kayelle Allen — The Next Step

    10:00 PM — 10:30 PM — Sunday — Kayelle Allen — Farewells and Next
    Year
    Summer Camp!
    How much does this cost? A lot of time and energy, but the camp itself is free. We do this for our members every year. So how much is membership? That’s free too. We’re a Yahoo Group of about 1800 people, from every part of the literary community. We are mostly romance writers, but we’re also poets, technical writers, and bloggers. We have publisher members, cover artists, and other professionals.
    Why not join us and find out what it’s like? Wander over to the Coffee Time Romance forum and join up. Come by our Yahoo group and see what we’re up to. We promote for our members on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, BlogTalkRadio, and we’re about to open a Goodreads group. Maybe you’ll find a place you feel at home. Bring your questions.
  • Author Marketing

    Taste of Summer: Chocolate Heath Bar Trifle @stacyjuba #RLFblog #MFRWorg

    Chocolate Pie

    Taste of Summer By Stacy Juba

    If you’re a writer, then you won’t want to miss MFRW Summer Camp.
    This free event is sponsored by Marketing for Romance Writers, which began as a
    Yahoo group of a dozen authors who wanted to know how to market their books. Today
    the group has nearly 1800 members. One reason I love this group so much is because
    of its frequent free workshops, including the 2nd Annual Summer Camp slated for
    July 12-14.
    What will you find if you join the Yahoo group? A supportive
    environment to focus on learning marketing and publicity. We seek ways to advance
    our careers, brainstorm new ventures and ideas, get feedback, and find others interested
    in working together. You can take a class or teach one.
    While promotions are not allowed on the Yahoo group, news about
    pitch sessions and calls for submission are. MFRW coordinates pitch events with
    publishers for our members. On Facebook, we promote and share news. We link our
    blogs in blog hops, pin books by members on Pinterest, show off our cover models,
    and share tweets on Twitter. Those are just a few of the activities of this dynamic
    group. We’re open to the entire literary community and we would love for you to
    join us.
    What will you find during summer camp? Free classes, lots of
    them, in all areas of marketing and promotion. You can ask questions, pick up some
    new tools, and make new friends.
    You can find more about the group and summer camp here. We hope
    you’ll join us!
    http://marketingforromancewriters.org/camp.htm
    To help spread the word about MFRW and Summer Camp, a bunch of
    us are taking turns blogging about the group and sharing a recipe. Today I’m sharing
    my special dessert, Chocolate Heath Bar Trifle, which is sure to impress guests
    at summer barbecues. My husband loves this dessert so much that he recently asked
    me to make it for 50 co-workers!

    Chocolate Heath Bar Trifle

    Ingredients:
    Shortening
    1 box chocolate cake mix
    2 boxes chocolate instant pudding
    Package of crushed Heath Bar
    2 small Cool Whip containers (8 oz)
    Spread shortening over cake pan. Bake cake following directions
    on box. Then make chocolate pudding following the directions on box. Keep pudding
    at room temperature. Crumble up cake into chunks and set aside. In a large glass
    trifle serving bowl, layer half of the crumbled cake, half the pudding, 1 Cool Whip
    container, and half of the Heath bar candy. Repeat layers again. Refrigerate.
    Note: Although this looks especially impressive in a glass trifle
    bowl, I’ve also used a disposable aluminum pan with a lid. It doesn’t look as magnificent,
    but it will still disappear quickly!

    About the Author

    Young Ladies of Mystery
    Stacy Juba has made numerous bestseller lists including GalleyCat’s
    Barnes & Noble Bestsellers, GalleyCat’s Mystery and Thriller Bestsellers, and
    multiple Amazon Top 100 lists, and she has also been ranked as one of the Most Popular
    Authors in Mysteries on Amazon. She has had a book ranked as #5 in the Nook Store
    and #30 on the Amazon Kindle Paid List. Stacy has written about reality TV contestants
    targeted by a killer, an obit writer investigating a cold case, teen psychics who
    control minds, twin high school hockey stars battling on the ice, and teddy bears
    learning to raise the U.S.
    flag: she pursues whatever story ideas won’t leave her alone. She is a former journalist
    with more than a dozen writing awards to her credit.

    Find Me Here

    Permalink to Stacy’s recipe post on her own blog:

  • Author Marketing

    Taste of Summer: Crockpot Pot Roast @kristynphipps @MFRW_ORG #RLFblog #MFRWorg

    Summer Pot Roast 
    Recipe by Kristyn M. Phipps, Activities Director, Marketing
    for Romance Writers
    When you think of a retreat or conference, do you think of
    making a packing list? Traveling out of town? Hiring a sitter? Spending a ton
    of money? Holing up in a hotel for a weekend? Well, you won’t find any of that
    at the MFRW Summer Camp in July!
    Not only is camp free (yes, I said FREE!!), but it’s an
    incredible opportunity for any author to get involved in a writers network that
    only has benefits. Camp isn’t just another conference, it’s the conference to
    learn from your peers and share your knowledge with them. I’m not saying this
    because I’m on staff – I experienced this personally long before joining the
    staff.
    This amazing group not only shares knowledge and gives
    advice, but it teaches and helps its members succeed. There is a common bond
    between the authors that I dare say you cannot find anywhere else. Why? Because
    everyone has a voice, and that voice is always heard. We have and give the opportunity
    to make a difference in the lives and careers of others.
    To find out more about our Summer Camp “Tastes of
    Summer”, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MarketingForRomanceWriters/ or
    http://marketingforromancewriters.org/camp.htm 
    Today, I’d like to share my recipe for my summer pot roast – only when the ingredients have spent time cooking together do they come together in a beautiful dinner medley!

    Summer Camp
    Pot Roast

    Ingredients:
    1 roast (2-3 pounds)
    7-10 red skin potatoes, washed and halved
    1 small bag of baby carrots
    1 beef bouillon cube
    1 c water
    Seasoning Mix: 1/4 tsp of each: garlic salt, black pepper,
    thyme, sage, rosemary, oregano, and parsley
    Instructions:
    (1) Place prepared potatoes, carrots, and bouillon cube in
    the bottom of the crockpot.
    (2) Rub the Seasoning Mix into all sides of the roast and
    place it on top of the veggies.
    (3) Pour water over the roast to let the loose seasonings
    mix in the bottom.
    (4) Cook on low setting to your liking – about 6 to 8 hours.
    Do not overcook as meat will become dry.
    Served best with a French loaf and your favorite green
    veggie! 

    Find Me Here

    Website http://kristynphipps.com

  • Author Marketing

    MFRW: Follow Your Passion @AuthorTinaGayle #RLFblog #MFRWauthor

    Summer’s Growth 

    Today, author Tina Gayle takes over the blog with a tip for following your passion as a writer.
    ===

    Follow Your Passion with the Help of MFRW

    You can’t buy it…you can’t get it from someone else–It is
    right there within you.
    My passion to be a published author has taken me on a wild ride.
    The up and down adventure has required perseverance and tenacity. I’ve had to sit
    in the chair and write, deal with situations that I’d never imagined, encountered
    a number of “Oh Shit moments” and had more fun than I could have ever
    believed possible.
               
    With no agent, spelling challenged, and an aversion to commas,
    my love of a good story kept me going. I took writing classes, networked with other
    writers and put myself where I needed to be to hone my skills. My rose colored glasses
    wouldn’t let me see what others said were insurmountable obstacles.
    Also along the way, I found promoting my book to be a challenge.
    That is one of the reasons I love Marketing for Romance Writers. The group is very
    supportive and helps me discover new ways to market my book.
    This summer they are also offering a free summer camp to not
    only help me learn about new promotion sites, but to also help me be a better writer.
    What more can you ask for?
    No matter which road you travel remember to follow your passion
    and discover a new world of adventure.
    — Tina Gayle

    Summer’s Growth

    A mainstream novel with romantic and paranormal elements about
    two women.
    Mattie Winston, an almost fifty recluse who lives on a lonely
    estate and guards generations of family spirits, and a young college student, Amber
    Harrison, who doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life. The Winston spirits
    decided that Mattie needs to develop a life outside the estate and Amber is going
    to be the new family keeper, which throws the two together.
    Both travel down different paths of self-discovery but their
    reliance on each other grows stronger after several scary moments. Mattie, challenged
    by an old flame, rethinks the idea of love. Amber, faced with the appearance of
    her distant grandmother’s ghost, decides to solve the mystery of why her grandmother
    disappeared without a trace. By the end of the book, after love is embraced and
    family secrets are revealed, Mattie and Amber are both ready to meet their futures
    with enthusiasm as stronger more self-confident people.

    Buy links

    Amazon http://amzn.com/B00B8VXGLK/
    Barnes and Noble http://barnesandnoble.com/w/summers-growth-tina-gayle/1114375064?ean=2940044285521
    Kobo http://kobobooks.com/ebook/Summers-Growth/book-sLxVut-IzUWfKJDoVOIg5A/page1.html?s=qrQp7DVJq0mXP9mX4wF8ww&r=1

    Find Me Here

    Blog http://tinagayle.blogspot.com
    LinkedIn http://linkedin.com/pub/tina-gayle/11/689/759