I SPY: SWAG

Join the authors and friends of Not Your Usual Suspects for an occasional series of posts about their world of reading, writing and publishing.

Short and sweet, hopefully both informative and entertaining - join us at I-Spy to find out the how's and why's of what we do.

TODAY'S POST: I-Spy something beginning with ... Swag

I promised to do an I-SPY column on swag after the Romance Writer's of America (RWA) conference in July. The reason I volunteered is because this is the first year I actually invested in swag, other than bookmarks, to promote my books. I did as much research as I could before I decided what to purchase, including talking to other authors who had previously given out promo items.

After my research, I decided to purchase swag that was a bit different than most, but fit the theme of my current cyber sleuthing mystery series. I bought 250 quarter-size screen cleaners with the logo design depicted in the picture below. The screen cleaners have the logo on one side and a small microfiber cloth on the other, so you can clean your cell phone, tablet or computer. It also has a little string handle, so you can add it to your keychain or hang it near your desk. It's small enough to fit in a purse or a pocket (my teen son keeps one in his pocket to clean his cell phone).  However, because I wasn't certain how well they would perform, I opted out of the yellow color on the target to save money until I was certain how they would be received. My thought process in choosing this swag was that my heroine is a hacker and a geek and since the screen cleaners were tied to technology, it was a good fit. Besides, since just about everyone has a cell phone and computer, I thought it would be something useful, catchy and unique to offer readers and fans.

During the RWA conference, I haunted the "goodie" room where authors laid out swag promoting their books. I watched to see what items went first, and when people ooohed and aaahed. I interviewed other authors and attendees as to what kind of swag they liked best. I had authors tell me what swag they bought or created that generated the most buzz. Finally, I evaluated my own choices of items I scooped up and those I passed over.

One thing was clear in both observation and discussion, chocolate is a draw. Chocolate was attached to pens, bookmarks and calendars. It was presented in the form of chocolate coins for pirate historical romances, chocolate sauce packets for erotica, and chocolate kisses for contemporary romances.  There were chocolate bars, chocolate sprinkles and chocolate fans. Chocolate was an overwhelming theme and, not surprisingly, popular. Other types of candy were also popular, mostly a variety of hard candies, but not exclusively. People almost always took some chocolate, but since there were so many choices, it was hard to make one swag involving chocolate stand out from the other. I also witnessed a lot of people taking the chocolate and either throwing away or leaving the items to which the chocolate was attached.

Some of the swag was creative. There was cute swag containing a bookmark that had an old fashioned key attached to it referring to the "Key" in the title. But what could you do with it? Someone had made cute pink fishnet baggies with small pink pearl bracelets inside, tied to a bookmark. Adorable. Calendars with half-clad, able-bodied men in a variety of poses promised to keep you company for the months of 2014. There were toothbrushes, small vials of perfume, necklaces, and tons of bookmarks and postcards of all sizes, shapes and varieties. So, what went the fastest?

It appeared that pens are still a popular draw. There were a variety of pens available. Most people tended to pass over the cheap ones (think basic Bic-style) and chose the fatter more elaborate pens. This tends to be better for the author anyway because your name, title, website (etc.) is more easily read on a fatter, larger pen. Another popular pick were the chip clips, a personal favorite for me because I can never have enough chip clips in my kitchen. The jewelry, bracelets, necklaces and earrings also went quickly. Of course, free books were also popular as well.

Chip clips and pen swag

What didn't budge? Bookmarks, postcards, magnets and buttons. Stacks upon stacks of paper bookmarks were available and most people passed on them. However, the more creative the bookmark, the more likely it was to be scooped up. I took a cute ribbon bookmark flanked with two typewriter keys on either side. The authors name and title is written on the ribbon. It's my favorite bookmark now. I also saw a couple of other cute bookmarks made of cloth or lace, and those were more often chosen over the standard paper ones. Postcards, buttons and magnets were also slow to move.

So, how did my screen cleaners fare? All 250 of the screen savers were quickly scooped up at the literacy book signing. I didn't even have any to put in the goodie room. Obviously, I would consider that a success. The screen savers cost about 74 cents a cleaner. Does the swag correlate to larger sales or more recognition for me? Heck if I know. But if people keep and use the screen saver, I hope it will, at the very least, contribute to name recognition. Will I do it again? Probably. If nothing else, it was a great conversation starter with readers, fans and friends. That is the fun part of this business! Below is a picture with me at the RWA Literacy signing, along with the screen savers and some "Nerds" candy.

For those of you who comment, I'll do a drawing and send out 5 of my Lexi Carmichael "Get Your Geek On!" screen savers for your perusal! So, what are your thoughts on swag? Love it, or leave it? Use it, or discard it? Inquiring minds want to know.

FUTURE POSTS will cover:
Kindlegraph / the art of research / writing male/male romance / rejection and writer's block / building suspense / writing love scenes / anti-piracy strategies / audio books / interviews with editors and agents / using Calibre.
We welcome everyone's constructive comments and suggestions!

Questing for Nuggets

Writing books is a bit like searching for the Holy Grail.

Time to go Quest. Nice hat.

You start off on your quest, not knowing where to go or what to do. You fumble, get lost, run into monsters, not to mention unholy amounts of distractions, until one day, you find yourself tiptoeing past the bones of other questors, holding your breath as the vultures circle overhead…and on the far side of the valley of bones, you finally! put your hands on the magic cup. 

(cue harp. chorus sings.) Ahhhhh! There it is!

Right at that moment, a blinding vision appears. The Vision says: “Great! I'll take that! Now do it again,” and vanishes with your prize.

Seriously?

Times like this, it helps if a questor has a few solid nuggets of advice on hand. I generally hoard nuggets in my saddlebags to nibble, or throw at vultures, as necessary. 

Today, in the interest of keeping us all out of the bone yard, I’m sharing.

One valuable nugget I came upon recently is “TheLittle Book of Talent” by Daniel Coyle. The book lists “52 Tips for Improving Your Skills.” Skills can be physical or mental. These tips apply to all kinds of talent. Coyle has broken the book into 3 sections: Getting Started, Improving Skills and Sustaining Progress. Here are a few of my favorites:

“Tip #5 Be Willing To Be Stupid”

“When it comes to developing talent, remember, mistakes aren't really mistakes—they are the guideposts to getting better.”

I love this tip! Mostly because it took me sooooo long to learn it. A knight wandering the forest runs into trouble—but somehow that test, prepares the knight for what comes next, right? Don't spend 100 years in the forest, like I did. Embrace your Stupid-ness!

“Tip #30 Take a Nap.”

“Napping is common in talent hotbeds….(it’s) good for the learning brain.”

See! Total validation for that weird habit I have of nodding off at 3 pm. Also, Knights are always falling asleep under trees and having adventures upon waking. I’m really seeking adventure when I nap.

“Tip #52 Think like a gardener. Work like a carpenter.”

“Talent grows slowly. You wouldn't criticize a seedling because it’s not yet a tall an oak tree…Think patiently, without judgment. Work patiently, strategically.”

Knights setting off on a quest always seem to have this mindset, don’t they? "I swear, on my honor, it will get done!" That's the attitude. 

So later today, when I climb back on my rusty--I mean trusty--steed and journey into the forest, I'll ….

hmmm. Saddlebags feeling a bit light. Uh oh. Is that...is that a vulture circling overhead?

Anyone else got a nugget to share?

Books I Want to Write

Today's belated blog topic is brought to you by Chris Brogan. I woke up this moment, stared blearily at the calendar and my eyes popped open. BLOG. DUE. TODAY.

So here we are today, friends, neighbors, countrymen. An impromptu blog on the topic of books not yet written. If you're a writer, what books would you like to write? Maybe they're already planned, or maybe you don't have the guts to write them yet? But go ahead, what would you like to write?

And readers, here's your chance to submit your literary grocery list. What books would you like to see? Maybe from a specific author, but maybe just in general. What are you in the mood for? What do you see a need for?

Go ahead and share.

You will notice I am totally fudging here and not offering my own book ideas. But I will. I'll put them in the comment section below as soon as I think of them. There's nothing like being startled before your coffee to freeze up that creative flow. ;-)

Puppy Love

You know how sometimes life gets so crazy and you forget things? Well, that was me with this blog post. With a couple of days to think of a topic, I really had no clue what to write about. The answer came with a little Yorkie Terrier named Chocolate, because she reminded me about love.

Chocolate lives a block away from me and most every day when I take my pooches for a walk we see her. She is the sweetest little morsel you'll ever meet. For the longest time I called her Muffin Top because she is so sweet and of course muffin tops are the best thing about a muffin. I finally met her owner and learned her name is Chocolate. Very apropos, let me tell you.

This little puppy probably weighs about 5 lbs. She is about the size of my Pitbull's head.  I snapped a couple of shots so you could see the size difference.

Zachary adores this little piece of fluff. He waits by the gate when we walk by, his tail wagging in anticipation, his sad eyes looking from me to the yard, in hopes she'll run around from the backyard and say hi. She wiggles and squirms and can't get close enough and he kisses her through the fence. They are quite the pair. (My Border Collie, Liz, puts up with it only because she's smart enough to know that Chocolate won't be going home with us and she gets Zach to herself once we leave.) Chocolate is actually a bit of a hussy...she puts her butt to the fence so Zachary can get his sniffs in. I've tried to tell her a lady doesn't do that sort of thing, but she just squirms more and wags harder. (Hey...I tried.) Here's a shot of Zach giving her a big wet one through the fence.

My point of all this is that love knows no bounds. Though Zachary and Chocolate are not compatible at all, it doesn't keep them from wanting to be together. They cry for each other and Zachary pulls to get to her house every day. It's love at its purest.

I guess that's why I love writing romance. I get such joy watching these two fawn all over each other that it makes me want to go home and write a good romance. I want people to get that same feeling while reading one of my books. I think I also want to incorporate a puppy romance in an upcoming book. I wrote a dog in Dangerously Close and got great feedback so I'm thinking the next time I write a dog, I need to give him/her a love interest.

What about you? Any furry romances you can share?

What's Happening At Harlequin

This past weekend Malle Vallik, Director of Editorial Digital Initiatives at Harlequin, put on a presentation at the Florida Romance Writers. Whether you're a reader or a writer, I thought I would post a few highlights of what's coming up at Harlequin.

First Malle mentioned that ebooks sales were up 110% vs. 2011 and ebooks now comprise 41% of romance sales. If you're looking for an entry to sell to them, series currently hungry are Love Inspired Suspense, Heartwarming, Heartsong, Cosmo Red-Hot Reads, and Harlequin E.

She expressed excitement on the new imprint that launched in August: Cosmo Red-Hot Reads. This line is in conjunction with Cosmo Magazine and features fun, fearless females in their 20's to early 30's. The women have careers, friends and a complete life but a man is icing on the cake.  Stories are in first and third person.

While Malle described Carina Press as their single title digital, Harlequin E is their digital series. You name it--horror, sci fi, intrique noir, space opera, mysteries, time travel, fantasy, contemporary romance, teen romance, new adult--this imprint will have it.  Specific series include 'Shivers', the contemporary gothics, 'Grand', the big melodramas, and 'Pop!', the culture romance. 'Reckonings' will feature alternate history.

Other than the Grands, word count is 15,000 plus.

On the contest front, "What's Your Story" features a mock book cover and entrants submit a first sentence or paragraph based on the mock book cover. Winning entries will be published in the Harlequin E-Trend Report. Rules at storystarter@harlequin.com.

Also underway this week is 'So You Think You Can Write' with the lucky winner being offered a publishing contract. Details at www.soyouthinkyoucanwrite.com. Not a writer? You can vote and help find the next new author.

If any of my fellow NYUS authors have upcoming books with the new imprints Cosmos Red-Hot Reads or Harlequin E, let us know.

Carol Stephenson
Justice At All Costs
HER DARK PROTECTOR, 2013 EPIC & IDA finalist
http://www.carolstephenson.com

 

A Writing Companion

Writing is a solitary occupation. I do most of my writing sitting in my La-Z-Boy chair or if I want a change of scenery, I head out to a café.

When I write at home, I have an assistant. Here she is…meet Bella.

Bella’s job—as she sees it:

1. To make sure I don’t suffer from bottom spread. She nags me with loud barks when it’s time for me to do some exercise.

2. To take regular meal breaks. Again, her barking gets my attention, but she also comes to me chair and makes sure I haven’t missed the message that it’s food time.

3. To collect the mail. She likes to know that we can afford to pay for her food during the coming month and likes checks almost as much as I do.

4. To discourage door-to-door salesmen. No one should distract her partner when she’s in writing mode.

5. To suggest plotting breaks. She signals this by appearing with a tennis ball or her favorite toy.

6. To dispense cuddles when the writing isn’t going well. She edges her way onto my chair, nudging the laptop out of the way.

We have a pretty good partnership, Bella and I, and her excellent understanding of what makes a happy author brings fun to my writing process.

Do you have someone who helps you during the writing process or keeps you company when you’re reading?

Shelley Munro lives in New Zealand with her husband and a rambunctious puppy called Bella. Her latest release is Past Regrets, a contemporary romance from Samhain Publishing. To learn more about Shelley and her books visit her website at www.shelleymunro.com 

Waiting for Dexter (and a giveaway)

Writers are always conscious of their readers. I want mine to be transported to a different world, one where the bleak, brooding hills of east Lancashire dominate the landscape, one where good overcomes evil, where the good guy wins and the baddie gets his comeuppance. 

But do you know what I really want? I want them to feel the same way about my books as I do about Dexter. Imagine that. Wow! I want them to count the days until the next book in my series hits the shelves. I want them unable to wait until they get their hands on it. 

That’s how I feel about Dexter. I’ve been hooked from the moment I saw those wonderful opening credits welcoming me to Series 1, Episode 1. I admit that, while watching, I mutter things like “How ridiculous is that?” and “There’s no way that could happen” but I am still utterly, totally hooked. Addicted even. 

Lucky, lucky, lucky people in the States see Dexter episodes before us poor souls here in the UK. (No spoilers from you US viewers, please.) I gather there’s a dodgy online site where, a few hours after an episode has aired in the US, it’s possible to download the episode and save yourself a week’s wait for it to appear on TV here in the UK. I also gather that a lot of viewers in the UK have made use of this dodgy website simply because they can’t wait.* 

Now, just in case there’s anyone out there counting the minutes until the next Dylan Scott mystery is available and can’t possibly wait until 7 October (anyone? :o)), I have a treat for you. I’m giving away a digital copy of Deadly Shadows (either EPUB or PDF format). Yes, you could be the first person to get your hands on the sixth Dylan Scott story. 

Here’s the blurb:

Before his disgraceful dismissal from the police force, Dylan Scott worked undercover to get close to notorious drug dealer Joe Child. Now, Dylan works as a P.I.—and Child heads up a religious commune near Dawson's Clough. But after two girls go missing from the refuge, the cops need Dylan's help to find out if Child is saving souls as a cover for something more sinister.

The investigation means going back undercover as a petty crook—a tough gig for a detective who has recently worked some high-profile cases in Lancashire. Even on a remote farm, Dylan's in constant danger of being recognized. Not to mention the strain his long absences have put on his family life.

Still, Dylan won't rest until he finds the missing girls. But the longer he looks, the harder it is to tell the sinners from the saints. And the truth may be more than this bleak northern town can handle.

If you’d like to be in with a chance of being the first person to read Deadly Shadows just say so in the comments and I’ll pick a winner on Wednesday. :)

* I admit nothing.