Tag Archives: Words.Music.Villlage

Leverage Every Book Event’s Booth Impact

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Our established Phoenix-area ALWAYS authors met in Sept. 2022 to discuss how to make the most of book booth exposure. Here are valuable tips gleaned from the discussion, including additional marketing advice.

Ann Narcisian Videan’s booth at Phoenix Comicon in 2018 offering other objects for sale (faerie doors), an opportunity to contribute to a charity book, and a progressive story on the easel.

Proven tips for attracting readers to your booth

•           Pre-publicize your booth and why people should come by. When you let readers know before the festival, you increase your chance of traffic and sales, especially if you offer them something they can only receive by coming to the booth.

•           Stand beside or in front of the table instead of behind it, when possible.

•           Entice passersby to step up to you by commenting on their clothing, asking a question, or offering an interesting activity:

–          “What do you like to read?” (Then refer to authors in that genre near you, and ask them to do the same.)

–          IDEA: Our group is going to try handing out other author’s postcards (with booth number printed in a stick-on dot ) to readers looking for a specific genre.

•           Offer an interesting activity, even for adults: a progressive story to which they can add writing or art, non-messy food tasting, trivia questions, etc. 

•           Giveaways:

–          For kids: stickers or buttons for them to wear; candy; coloring pages

•           Sell other items, colored pencils, trinkets, swag (screen cleaner with your book cover imprinted on it, pop sockets, or other useful items)

Other brilliance

•           Support a charity by giving away your book for a donation, which will be directed to the charity. Or give part of your proceeds to a charity.

•           Supermarket table: Some indie authors are setting up tables in supermarkets

•           Connect readers with your book via online communities:

–          Sign up on the Book Movement site, where you give books away for reviews from book clubs

–          Get your book in front of 600,000 readers via The Fussy Librarian site

–          Post your writing at Booksie.com, providing tools for writers to publish their work and connect with readers from across the world.

•           Make purchasing your book easy: Have a info readily available for quick online, Paypal, Venmo, or Zellepayments. Have a Square, for credit card swiping. You can obtain one for free or inexpensively and will pay 3% or less in credit card fees to use one.

Wisdom

•           After you set a book up and have a few reviews that are good, only read your five-star reviews. You can’t please everyone, and you need not suffer from low reviews.

•           Don’t use bookmarks, which often are thrown away. Hand out postcards on demand only, or a Top 10 list, a recipe, food lists, trivia, or other book-content-related handouts.

•           Keep accurate sales numbers. They can help you get into bookstores and all major distributors.

•           Hire an actor to read your most emotional chapter and post the video online.

•           Purchase a $5 ad on Amazon or FB, and look at the search term used by those responding. If they searched for the title of the book, rather than general search terms, they likely saw your ad.

Recommended Arizona book expos, fairs, and other events

•           Desert Foothills Book Festival, second annual currently in planning phase.

–          Images Arizona interviewed several participating authors in 2022 and covered them in the magazine.

•           Payson Book Festival, in Payson, AZ, in planning for July 2023

•           Thumb Butte Book Fest, in Prescott, AZ (Nov. 4, 2022? I couldn’t verify online.)

………..

Write on!
Ann Narcisian Videan, Book Shepherd
Write • Edit • Publish

P.S. Learn more about my novels on my Amazon Author Central page.

Find me elsewhere online.

SAVVY AUTHORS LEVERAGE ISBNs AND LCCNs

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I, Ezra Katz, CC BY-SA 3.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

Let’s start with definitions, shall we?

An International Standard Book Number ( ISBN), per isbn-international.org, is “a product identifier used by publishers, booksellers, libraries, internet retailers and other supply chain participants for ordering, listing, sales records and stock control purposes. The ISBN identifies the registrant as well as the specific title, edition and format.”

A Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN), says the Library of Congress, is “a unique identification number the Library of Congress assigns to the catalog record created for each book in its cataloged collections. Librarians use it to locate a specific Library of Congress catalog record in the national databases and to order catalog cards from the Library of Congress or from commercial suppliers.”

But where do I obtain an ISBN?

Quick answer: Your print-on-demand publisher (e.g. KDP/Amazon, etc.) or through Bowker’s MyIdentifiers.com, depending on what you want to do…

Anyone who uses the free ISBN from KDP wants to only sell books and buy author copies through KDP/Amazon. It allows you to be in Amazon’s expanded distribution system, which puts you in the computer system of Barnes & Noble and other select bookstores and libraries. Not on the shelves, but in their systems in case readers want to order your book .

Anyone who purchases their own ISBNs through Bowker typically wants to:

• Buy books locally (faster, with more quality control). These days, it’s taking weeks to get printed books through KDP. I’ve always been personally satisfied with KDP printing, but some of my authors have had issues.

• Sell ebooks on other e-reader platforms like Smashwords, Apple Books, Kobo…

• Publish through IngramSpark (IS) to have their books listed in their distribution catalog. This is a pretty good reason to get an ISBN specific to IS.

Bowker ISBNs cost $125 for one and $295 for ten. Since every format of a books needs a uniques ISBN, I always suggest buying the package.

[Side note: I’ve done both KDP and Bowker ISBNs in the past, but am leaning toward definitely buying a Bowker ISBN to use with IS in the future.]

And how about that LCCN?

Formerly called a Preassigned Control Number (PCN), the LCCN allows your book to be purchased by and/or donated to a library, because the Library of Congress (LOC) can easily catalog it.

It takes less than five days to obtain a LCCN, often the next-day. You first need to set up an account at the LOC, then fill out an application for a single book’s LCCN.

My thought is, why not? It can only help, and doesn’t cost anything or take much effort to secure. 

………..

Write on!
Ann Narcisian Videan, Book Shepherd
Write • Edit • Publish

P.S. Learn more about my novels on my Amazon Author Central page.

Find me elsewhere online.

Three top writing tips to captivate a reader

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While reviewing a blog I ran across at the Self-Publishing School site, I realized their points covered some of the main techniques I teach in my writing workshops to overcome these issues. Study the few tips below, and you’ll be amazed at how your words jump off the page!

  • Avoid passive voice, use active voice instead
    • Passive voice often uses inactive verbs followed by words ending in “-ed”
      or “-ing”
      • Passive voice = is cheering, are praying, have binged
      • Active voice = cheer, prays, binged
    • In active voice, you start your sentences with the subject and use an active verb to describe what the subject does. 
  • Don’t use weak verbs, use active verbs instead
    • Inactive/”to be” verbs = is, was, has, have, be, been
    • Active verbs create a mental picture: cheers, pray, binged, stumble, stared
  • Why use emotion explaining, when you can simply show physical reactions? 
    • Climb into a character’s skin and experience what they taste, feel, hear, smell, and do.
    • Beauty is in the details… describe how someone’s hands shake and lips quiver when they tremble in “fear.”

Write on!
Ann Narcisian Videan, Book Shepherd
Write • Edit • Publish • Word-of-mouth strategy

P.S. Learn more about my novels on my Amazon Author Central page.

Women Entrepreneurs Conference and Book, Wow!

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Living Brave… Women in Business book debuts at conference

I attended a women’s conference Sat., Oct. 27, 2018, in Scottsdale, Ariz., that made my mind explode! The “Voices of Success” conference, forged around Hilda Villaverde and Mary Beth Stern’s new book Living Brave… Women in Business, took all 200 of us in the audience to another level in many ways. So much so, the authors received a standing ovation at the end of the day. How often have you seen that?

Highlights

  • Emcee Devita Lewis did an outstanding job keeping everyone interested and laughing, and the program moving briskly. Plus, she performs an amazing hula.
  • FABRIC and Labelhorde Founder Angela Johnson introduced us to twelve Arizona designers in an inspiring fashion show. One of the designers was twelve years old, others used fabric remnants to create envy-worthy multi-patterned garments, and all were uniquely innovative. (How I wish I’d taken photos…)
  • From the moist breads and muffins at morning break, through the  healthy fare at lunch, to the crunchy homemade potato chips and nuts in the afternoon… the food was delicious and healthy.
  • The selected women, whose stories also appear in the book, who shared their stories on stage These included the indomitable Disability Wisdom Consulting Founder Arielle Silverman; and speaker/consultant/coach Silver Rose, who shared steps for Socratic delegation.
  • Not to mention the other, nearly 50, women’s business success stories detailed in the book, which each attendee received at the conclusion of the day. Brilliant!
  • Arielle Silverman, founder, Disability Wisdom Consulting
  • Emcee Devita Lewis, with CoAct Commercial and iAloha Radio
  • Co-authors Hilda Villaverde and Mary Beth Stern with Devita
You, too, can benefit from the voices of these successful women. I highly encourage you to visit Amazon and invest in the book Living Brave… Women in Business, which I was honored to “shepherd” for Hilda and Mary Beth. Read it and reap. If you find it as inspiring and motivating as I did, please consider writing a short Amazon review. What other successful women’s books/stories/events can you recommend?
Write on! Ann Narcisian Videan, Book Shepherd Write • Edit • Publish • Word-of-mouth strategy

Super, short-writing secrets re: magazine publishing

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Alliance for Literary Writers, Authors & Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS)

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My first foray into short story writing involves writing Faeries’ Tales to accompany hand-sculpted faerie portals. I  can see my tales published in sci-fi/fantasy publications such as Faerie Magazine. Where can you see your short pieces published?

Established writers, would you like to see your short stories, essays, poems, or articles published in magazines? Windy Lynn Harris, founder of Market Coaching for Creative Writers, will give us tips on how to make it happen. At our next gathering, ask her how to categorize your work, write a stand-out letter, format your MS and find hundreds of editors looking for writers like you.

Next gathering:
Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016
11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
(ALWAYS typically meets on the second Thursday of the month.)

Where:
Old Spaghetti Factory
1418 N. Central Ave.
Phoenix, AZ

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

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

Are you an established writer who:
• Needs contacts to help your writing?
• Wants advice about your writing?
• Likes 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.

Key editing secrets to write a compelling story: Tempe library workshop

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Ann Videan

Here I am presenting last time at the Tempe Public Library… same topic, but I’ve added a few tips.

As an editor, I consistently fix a handful of writing issues as I read through manuscripts.

As a writer, if you knew about these issues, you could avoid them before your editor even reached for a red pen. You could create a much more vibrant manuscript to submit to a potential publisher… one that compels your reader deep into your story or message.

Allow me to give you the inside scoop at a free workshop, #2 in my series of four writing presentations: “Key Editing Secrets To Write A Compelling Story.”

Sat., Sept. 17, 2016
10 a.m.–12 p.m.

Tempe Public Library
Meeting Room A

Can’t wait to see you there!

 

 

Free writers’ workshops equal “magic elixir” to induce better writing

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In one day, you can “magically” gain a wide spectrum of knowledge about writing more vibrantly in any genre.

Twelve local, multi-published authors will discuss everything from managing writer’s block and crafting romance to writing Native American characters and managing outrageous marketing. (That latter topic, I’m thrilled to say, will be covered by “yours truly.”) I will also contribute to the keynote panel discussion at the end of the day: “Communities, Conferences and Critique Groups.”

Where and when can you find all this “magic elixir?”

The Desert Rose Chapter of the Romance Writers of America sponsors its…

11th annual Free Writers’ Workshops
Scottsdale Civic Center Library
Sat. Nov. 5, 2016
10:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.

Learn a bunch, rub elbows with authors, buy books, and have fun with us!

Have questions? Contact Valen Cox at valencox3@gmail.com.

2016 Scottsdale Workshops Brochure (1).jpg

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Toe-tapping first-track release of The Darling Sounds’ indie surf rock music

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The Darling Sounds will release their new album Haunt on 11/11, and they just released the first track, “Domestic Sounds,” on Bandcamp. You’ll find yourself tapping your toe and singing along to this Phoenix-based indie surf rock band’s music—featuring my son Cutter Videan as lead guitarist, vocalist, and music mixer. Grace Bolyard’s lyrics shine with her vocals and rhythm guitar, and Zach Nelson will make your heart pound with his percussion.

“Domestic Sounds” is definitely worth a listen and, if you like it, you can pay whatever you want for it on Bandcamp. Sweet options.

Beyond whimsy: Experience the impact of faerie doors

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One of my drawings for the Absolutely Wild! faerie door coloring book.

As you may have heard, my dear friend Cherie and I recently embarked on a journey to create Absolutely Wild! faerie doors. The New Zealand Fae characters in my Delfaerune Rhapsody fantasy novel series inspired the idea, and we plan to do a line of Delfaerune Fae doors tied into the books. We also plan to write custom faerie tales to accompany the wee whimsical doors we craft for art
and gifts. A coloring book is also in the works.

But… we’re finding that more than whimsy can come into play with this idea.

Check out the faerie doors gracing the city in this video. Public art and imagination bloom with the possibilities…

Also, to further experience the power of a faerie door, read and watch the touching short film, The Gnomist. Make sure you have tissues nearby.

Where else have you seen the impact of faerie doors?