Share your experience with author TV and radio interviews – ALWAYS

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Ann Videan

Snapped this shot of Kevin Hearne, author of the Iron Druid Chronicles (https://www.facebook.com/authorkevin?ref=br_tf) at his *Shattered* book signing in Colorado. He's so at ease with an audience... I'm assuming he's great with the media, too. Are you? Come find out how you can succeed with broadcast media at our January ALWAYS gathering.

Snapped this shot of Kevin Hearne, author of the Iron Druid Chronicles at his *Shattered* book signing in Colorado. He’s so at ease with an audience… I’m assuming he’s great with the media, too. Are you?
Come find out how you can succeed with broadcast media at our January ALWAYS gathering.

Gather with the Alliance for Literary Writers, Authors & Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS) on Jan. 15, 2015.

TOPIC: What can you bring to the table concerning broadcast marketing for books? How can you prepare? Where are the best broadcast outlets to tout your book? Had some luck? Suffered a bad experience? Know someone who has? Please come and share your experiences, and invite anyone else who you know who might have something to contribute to the group. (We’ll meet a week later than usual, this month.)

Next gathering:
Thursday, Jan. 15, 2014
11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
(ALWAYS typically meets on the second Thursday of the month.)

Where:
Romeo’s Euro Café
(downtown GIlbert, AZ)
207 N. Gilbert Rd. #105
Gilbert, Arizona 85234
(480) 962-4224

Back-up location:
Joe’s BBQ
301 N. Gilbert Rd.
Gilbert, AZ 85234
(480) 503-3805

Cost:
A writing tip, and your own lunch.

RSVP:
PLEASE show the consideration of reserving your spot at the table by:
• RSVPing through the “Join” link on our Facebook Event page
or
• Contacting Ann Videan

If you’ve RSVP’d, please SHOW UP. If you run into a conflict, please let me know BEFORE the event so I can make the necessary adjustments for the group meeting. Cheers!
…………………………………………………………….

ABOUT ALWAYS

• Need contacts to help your writing?
• Want advice about your writing?
• Like to hang with other cool writers?

If so, our tribe – the Alliance for Literary Writers, Authors & Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS) – is the place for you. ALWAYS is an informal group of established writers looking for camaraderie, ideas, enlightenment and connection with writers, especially in the Phoenix metro area. Connect with us online through our ALWAYS Facebook page, get listed in our directory of writers on our ALWAYS LinkedIn page, or meet with us in person at a monthly lunch meeting.

We’d love to have any experienced writer join us at our next meeting to discuss our craft and businesses … anyone who spends a significant part of his/her week writing, and wants to rub elbows with other writers.

…………………..

Write on!
Ann Narcisian Videan
Write • Edit • Self-publish • Word-of-mouth
avidean@videanunlimited.com

Life’s Little Pleasures — the coveted Videan family gingerbread kids recipe

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Ann Videan

A word-of-mouth marketing example from the lens of Ann Narcisian Videan
to inspire your readers or tribe/village.

(You may want to subscribe to my LINC enewsletter announcing
more word-of-mouth marketing examples.)
…………………………..

Gingerbread orchestra.

The good story behind the goodies

My mom was famous for her gingerbread kids. She baked dozens and dozens every Christmas, and her friends waited all year for them to arrive on their doorstep.

To try our family gingerbread recipe is to love it. Really. Everyone who tastes them, raves about how tasty, soft and chewy, and uniquely iced they are. Not to mention highly tasty.

We’ve continued, and slightly enhanced, the tradition. We still give them away as gifts at holiday time, only usually in one or two of my “scrapboxed” tins. I use my scrapbooking materials to creatively cover the many tea tins I accumulate from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf every year. Plus, my family loves to make the kids’ icing unique. One year, we iced on car logos. Another year, Harry Potter characters. Last year, the dwarves from The Hobbit (which will have already seen if you subscribe to my LINC enewsletter.)

My tins are perfect for our award-winning Molasses Crinkles, too! 🙂

My “scrapboxed” cookie tins for cookies and gingerbread

I thought this year I’d add to your holiday cheer by sharing the recipe. Enjoy every morsel!

Gingerbread Kids

(makes 70 mini gingerbread boys)
From the kitchen of Madge Narcisian, via Ann Narcisian Videan

1/2 c. soft shortening
1 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. light or dark molasses
1 egg yolk

Beat shortening, sugar, molasses until creamy. Add egg yolk and beat well.

2 c. all purpose sifted flour (maybe just short of 2 cups)
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1 t. ground ginger
1 t. ground cloves
1-1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg

Sift flour with salt, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg. Blend into sugar mixture. (If the dough is too granular, add a tablespoon or two of milk.)

Chill dough for more than one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On lightly floured board, roll out dough to 1/4” thickness. Using two-inch gingerbread cookie cutters, stamp and place 1/2” inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes.

Icing

1-1/2 c. confectioners sugar
1 egg white
1/2 t. cream de tartar
Use water not milk to thin icing.

Why not share one of your favorite family recipes, below in the comments…

…………………..

Write on!
Ann Narcisian Videan
Write • Edit • Self-publish • Word-of-mouth

Share proven tips in our free established author roundtable — ALWAYS

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Ann Videan

If you feed them, will they come? This is a question you might pose about book signings. These delicious treats at my recent book signing with C.L. Gillmore (A Friend Request) were a hit attendees. It helps when you fellow author used to cater.

If you feed them, will they come? This is a question you might pose about book signings. Attendees loved these delicious treats at my recent Song of the Ocarina book signing with C.L. Gillmore (A Friend Request). It helps when your fellow author used to cater events.

What obstacles interfere with your writing?
What are you losing sleep over?
Need ideas and resources to move forward?

It’s a writer’s-choice meeting! Bring your questions and issues to the table for your fellow established authors’ input at our December 2014 gathering of the Alliance of Literary Writers, Authors and Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS).

Next gathering:
Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014
11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
(ALWAYS meets on the second Thursday of the month.)

Where:
Romeo’s Euro Café
(downtown GIlbert, AZ)
207 N. Gilbert Rd. #105
Gilbert, Arizona 85234
(480) 962-4224

Back-up location:
Joe’s BBQ
301 N. Gilbert Rd.
Gilbert, AZ 85234
(480) 503-3805

Cost:
A writing tip, and your own lunch.

RSVP:
PLEASE show the consideration of reserving your spot at the table by:
• RSVPing through the “Join” link on our Facebook Event page
or
• Contacting Ann Videan

ABOUT ALWAYS

• Need contacts to help your writing?
• Want advice about your writing?
• Like to hang with other cool writers?

If so, our tribe – the Alliance for Literary Writers, Authors & Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS) – is the place for you. We’re an informal group of established writers looking for camaraderie, ideas, enlightenment and connection with writers, especially in the Phoenix metro area, to talk about our craft and businesses.

Any established writer can connect with us online through our ALWAYS Facebook page, get listed in our directory of writers on our ALWAYS LinkedIn page, or you can meet with us in person at a lunch meeting. We’d love to have any experienced writer join us at our next meeting … anyone who spends a significant part of his/her week writing, and wants to rub elbows with other writers.

…………………..

Write on!
Ann Narcisian Videan
Write • Edit • Self-publish • Word-of-mouth
avidean@videanunlimited.com

Share an evening with award-winning authors, books, and music… even award-winning cookies!

Posted on November 14, 2014 by Ann Videan

Cheryl’s and my books are both filled with music and love. Her romance, A Friend Request, will appeal to adults (18+), while my fantasy adventure, Song of the Ocarina, is geared to new adults (ages 15-25+).

Join in our book celebration!

The music-filled, fantastical world of Delfaerune awaits your exploration in my newly published novel Song of the Ocarina. I’ll share the spotlight with Cheryl Gillmore, author of A Friend Request—an adult story of first love rekindled online—which I had the honor to edit.

Capture 12 Photo Gallery
417 E. Roosevelt St., Phoenix, AZ

Sat., Nov. 22, 4 p.m.–8 p.m.

What’s in it for you? Everything award-winning!

Win a free 5-page sample edit of your writing.
Earn an entry for my drawing for a free signed copy of Song of the Ocarina, a Top Five Finisher in the”Realizing The Dream Contest.”
Just bring proof you found the special image identified in my blog’s Delfaerune Rhapsody section.(At the event, show me a screen capture, Instagram photo, my live blog page on your mobile device, etc.)
Meet at 7 p.m. with other “new adults” to discuss forming a tribe geared to leveraging your creative works.
Meet Cheryl Gillmore, author of A Friend Request, which I had the honor to edit. Her poetry book, Of Roots, Shoes and Rhymes, won the Sixth Annual National Indie Excellence Awards in poetry. Her first novel, Uncommon Bond, won the 2012 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards for Fiction-Romance.
Hear the playlists associated with our books, both of which are filled with popular music references.
If you have no other reason, come on down for a taste of my family’s award-winning Molasses Crinkles cookies. (Really, the annual ZooTeens cookie baking contest, thought our cookies were “Most Like Grandma’s.”)

Another opportunity for a book-drawing entry…

Independent authors rely on loyal supporters like you to allow them to continue writing the stories you love. Can you help by spreading the word? If you bring evidence of posting or re-posting any announcement for this book signing, I’ll add a second entry into my book drawing for you, and send you home with a bag of those delicious Molasses Crinkles.

Write on!
Ann Narcisian Videan
Write • Edit • Self-publish • Word-of-mouth

P.S. Learn more about my novels on Google+.

Create a compelling world to attach readers to your story – ALWAYS

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Ann Videan

This image of Queenstown, NZ, captures the feeling of my characters' magical world in "Song of the Ocarina." I'll talk about a starting point like this when creating a powerful fictional world, at our Nov. 13 established writers' lunch meeting – ALWAYS. @2008 ANVidean

This image of Queenstown, NZ, captures the feeling of my characters’ magical world in my “Song of the Ocarina” novel. I’ll talk about a starting point like this when creating a powerful fictional world, at our Nov. 13 established-writers’ lunch meeting – ALWAYS.
@2008 ANVidean

TOPIC: World-building in fiction.

How do you go about creating the world in which your characters move around in a novel? By request, your host Ann Videan will present ideas on this topic, having just finished creating a whole new realm for her Delfaerune Rhapsody series.

Next gathering:
Thursday Nov. 13, 2014
11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
(ALWAYS meets on the second Thursday of the month.)

Where:
Romeo’s Euro Café
(downtown GIlbert, AZ)
207 N. Gilbert Rd. #105
Gilbert, Arizona 85234
(480) 962-4224

Back-up location:
Joe’s BBQ
301 N. Gilbert Rd.
Gilbert, AZ 85234
(480) 503-3805

Cost:
A writing tip, and your own lunch.

RSVP:
PLEASE show the consideration of reserving your spot at the table by:
• RSVPing through the “Join” link on our Facebook Event page
or
• Contacting Ann Videan, avidean@videanunlimited.com

ABOUT ALWAYS

• Need contacts to help your writing?
• Want advice about your writing?
• Like to hang with other cool writers?

Authors share more writing secrets—ALWAYS

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Ann Videan

We share lots of fun marketing ideas—like the book review process— at ALWAYS. One of my favorite ideas involves using the author’s skills… like this amazing “sugar cover” work by pastry chef and author L.H. Nicole.

Judith Starkson, author of Hand of Fire, shared some solid tips on working with book reviewers at our Oct. 9 gathering of the Alliance of Literary Writers, Authors and Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS). Our other members also shared valuable ideas for the benefit of writers everywhere. 🙂

A couple of top tips from Judith:

Build your community months, even years, before your book is published
– Start following select bloggers and authors in your genre
– Participate in those communities with valuable information
– Bloggers and reviewers’ sites typically list other blogs they like and support, so you can send your info elsewhere.
To earn reviews for a specific book, start four to six months before publication. With your query, send:
– A “killer” book blurb
– Advance praise (testimonials) are key– Strong cover art
– Professional materials: author photo, press release, an email service like Constant Contact or MailChimp
Never respond to negative reviews or leave snarky comments online, and promote others.

Other ideas you can use, from our group:

Choosy Bookworm advertises a book to potential reviewers. For $50 you can reach 10,000 reviewers.
Fiverr is a good resource for artwork of any kind at $5 per piece. These hungry artists are willing to do art for this price because they want to meet people and develop relationships. Pay five of these folk to do your book cover, a total of $25, and you get five choices.
To get media coverage more easily, make sure to use two meaningful quotes from experts other than yourself, in addition to covering the who, what, why, when, where and how. Find out the name and spelling of the editor of your paper’s local edition.

What additional writing tip can you share with us?

…………………..

Write on!
Ann Narcisian Videan
Write • Edit • Self-publish • Word-of-mouth
avidean@videanunlimited.com

More key writing secrets from established authors – ALWAYS

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Ann Videan

Even if you missed our September 2014 Alliance of Literary Writers, Authors and Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS) gathering, you can still benefit from several established writers’ top writing and publishing secrets.

A former ALWAYS gathering with Karen Mueller Bryson, Megan Scott, Laurie Fagen, Mallary Tytel, and Ann Videan. Our handful of established authors meets once a month to discuss topics affecting our writing.

An especially large thank you to Karen Mueller Bryson, who shared all her expertise and knowledge about publishing your own books and others’. Invaluable!

Additional gratitude, for sharing other great tips, goes to Karen, Laurie Fagen, Paul McNeese, Shelley Gillespie, Wendy Fallon, and our new friend Patricia. Read their tips and reap:

1. Keep your book cover art blurb to only a few sentences. Readers want concise summaries. Plus, remember to write your back cover for the book buyer (publisher), not the reader, when pitching.

2. Just write! The most important thing you can do to become a better, more prolific, and well-known author is to set aside time every day to write. Religiously!

3. Check out The Passive Voice blog, “A Lawyer’s Thoughts on Authors, Self-Publishing and Traditional Publishing.”

4. Look into the Editor’s Toolkit software, providing tools for editing in Microsoft Word.

5. For an example of a indie self-publisher success story using serial fiction, look up Hugh Howey. Per Amazon, “He is the author of the award-winning Molly Fyde Saga and the New York Times and USA Today bestselling WOOL series. The WOOL OMNIBUS won Kindle Book Review’s 2012 Indie Book of the Year Award.”

5. Inform readers about your sales. Buy ads on bookseller sites—Bookbub, Book Gorilla, BookSends, etc.—to help position your book for bestseller status. It’s relatively easy, especially if you can categorize in a small niche market, and not horribly expensive.

6. See ProofOfExistence.com. This independent online service offers a copyright proof level between your own statement of copyright and that obtained from the U.S. Copyright Office.

7. From BureauOfCommunication, send fun “Mad-Libs”-type forms to friends and co-workers. Fill out a “Airing a Greivance,” “Statement of Gratitude,” “Unsolicited Feedback,” or other crazy-cool online forms.

8. You are not the best editor of your work. Let go. Fresh eyes can make your book better.

Some great ideas. What writing tip can you share with us here?

…………………..

Write on!
Ann Narcisian Videan
Write • Edit • Self-publish • Word-of-mouth
avidean@videanunlimited.com

Prepare for perfect publishing — ALWAYS

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Ann Videan

Join us for the September 2014 gathering of the Alliance for Literary Writers, Authors & Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS).

Our discussion will center around everything you want to know about self-publishing your books and others’. Karen Mueller Bryson, multi-published author and publisher of Short On Time Books, will share her best practices at our gathering. She’ll have back-up from other self-published authors and literary consultants in the group as well.

Buy your own lunch, share a tip, and reap the rewards of our informal get-together with other established authors.

Next gathering:
Thursday Sept. 11, 2014
11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
(ALWAYS meets on the second Thursday of the month.)

Where:
Romeo’s Euro Café
(downtown GIlbert, AZ)
207 N. Gilbert Rd. #105
Gilbert, Arizona 85234
(480) 962-4224

Back-up location:
Joe’s BBQ
301 N. Gilbert Rd.
Gilbert, AZ 85234
(480) 503-3805

Cost:
A writing tip, and the price of your own lunch.

If you’ve RSVP’d, please SHOW UP. If you run into a conflict, please let me know BEFORE the event so Ann can make the necessary adjustments for the group meeting. Cheers!
…………………………………………………………….

ABOUT ALWAYS

• Need contacts to help your writing?
• Want advice about your writing?
• Like to hang with other cool writers?

27 publishing secrets shared, to help you create your book

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Ann Videan

Song of the Ocarina novel cover, Ann Narcisian Videan

This is my new cover spread. Can you picture yourself revealing yours soon?

At this moment, I am forty pages from finishing the final edit of my second novel, Song of the Ocarina: the first book in a new-adult fantasy adventure series. Once I format it and upload it to Amazon’s CreateSpace I will have a self-published print-on-demand book. Woo hoo!

Would you like to know how to get to this point with your book?

My first foray into self-publishing happened in in 2011 with the self-publishing of my first women’s fiction novel Rhythms & Muse. Since then, I’ve helped dozens of other authors write, edit, self-publish and market their books. During all the years in this work, I’ve interviewed and worked with a wide array of literary experts who shared their secrets when it comes to book creation. Now, I’m sharing all those secrets with you in a series of three workshops at the Tempe Public Library.

The topics we’ll cover include: book creation steps, editing, and marketing.

* Sept. 6: “27 Steps from Idea to Published”
People new to the idea of writing a book, or who aren’t sure how to get a written book published will learn how to navigate the process.

* Sept. 13: “11 Editing Tips to Wow a Publisher”
Learn the key editing techniques to polish your book to impress publishers.

* Sept. 20: “Market Outside the Books: Outrageous Ideas to Entice Readers to Talk You Up”
Have you already written your book? I will share unique book marketing ideas to spark buzz by leveraging your book’s compelling content.

Each Saturday workshop runs from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. I hope to see you there!

Learn more at the Tempe Public Library site.

…………………..

Write on!
Ann Narcisian Videan
Write • Edit • Self-publish • Word-of-mouth
avidean@videanunlimited.com

Eight top writing and vocabulary secrets from established authors – ALWAYS

Posted on August 15, 2014 by Ann Videan

At our Alliance of Literary Writers, Authors and Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS) gathering this week, five established writers shared their top writing secrets and vocabulary words for this month. Now you can benefit from them, too!

Find font symbols
Write every day
Find speaking opportunities
Create an em-dash
Association for mystery writer
Product placement in books
Vocabulary suggestions
A.Word.A.Day link

Visualize Your Vocabulary, Shayne Gardner

1. Shayne Gardner — who just published Visualize Your Vocabulary: Turn Any SAT Word into a Picture and Remember It Forever (Volume 1) with illustrations by Kris Hagen — provided a tip about finding special font symbols on a computer.

According to Microsoft Word’s help function, “You can use the Symbol dialog box to insert symbols, such as ¼ and ©, or special characters, such as an em dash (—) or ellipsis (…) that are not on your keyboard, as well as Unicode characters.” Here’s how.

Emma Dilemma series, Patricia Hermes

2. Patricia Hemes, a multi-published author of the Emma Dilemma series among others, suggested simply that if you want to be a writer, you need to set time to write every day.

3. She also asked about speaking opportunities in the Phoenix area, and we suggested she contact the National Speakers Association headquartered in Tempe, Ariz.

4. Laurie Fagen, co-author in SoWest: Crime Time, a Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths Chapter Anthology (Volume 5), led us to a discussion about dashes. We differentiated these, and shared how to create them in Microsoft Word:

Hyphen (-), used to connect words
En-dash (–), for connection ranges or dates
Em-dash (—), what most people call simply a “dash,” signifying a break in a thought or longer pause or interruption in dialogue

SoWest: Crime Time anthology, Laurie Fagen

5. By the way, Laurie is the current president of the Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths. This association for mystery writers meets the third Wednesday of the month at Grimaldi’s Pizzeria in downtown Scottsdale, Ariz.

6. Ann Videan (that’s me), author of Rhythms & Music women’s novel and soundtrack, and The Delfaerune Rhapsody series, suggested authors look into product placement in your books to develop additional revenue streams. She explained that this simply involves mentioning brand names in your story and approaching the company about supporting the book for its publicity value to them. She recommended this HowStuffWorks article to learn more.

Song of the Ocarina, Ann Videan (book 1 of the Delfaerune Rhapsody series)

7. Our topic, vocabulary, helped unveiled several new fun words or phrases we can can all incorporate into our writing.

brilliant: popular in the United Kingdom, meaning cool, great, or an outstanding performance, concept, or product
mind the gap: a phrase to warn passengers to be careful while crossing the gap between the train door and the station platform.
go to the loo: an informal, more polite way of saying you’re headed to the bathroom, or going to the toilet

(From these first three, can you tell Laurie just returned from a trip to Europe?)

kerfuffle: disturbance or fuss
ostentatious: fancy, showing off wealth of knowledge to gain attention
ambitious: desiring to be successful, famous, or powerful; not easily done or achieved
grawlixes: typographical symbols standing for profanities, appearing in dialogue balloons in place of actual dialogue
ar·sy–var·sy: backside forward, head over heels, topsy-turvy
interrobang: a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection
histrionic: over-the-top melodramatic or theatrical
opprobrious: expressing scorn or criticism
disconcert: unsettle, disturb the composure of

(These last three are Shayne’s favorites from his new vocab book. Weren’t we lucky to have him attend today and share such cool words?)

8. For an introduction to a new word every day, complete with pronunciations, Laurie suggested subscribing to Wordsmith.org’s A.Word.A.Day.

Care to add your own tips or favorite words?

…………………..

Ann Narcisian Videan: Book Shepherd/Editor/Author

A cyber village connecting writers, music lovers and creative folk.

Category Archives: Village: You+Me+Us

Share your experience with author TV and radio interviews – ALWAYS