FAWG - It's not a Weather Phenomenon

The caterpillar does all the work but the butterfly gets all the publicity. (George Carlin)

Promotion, promotion, promotion. Sometimes it seems more important than the writing. And it’s not necessarily a natural activity for writers, most of whom are more or less introverted. If you’ve ever muttered curses at the telephone, run for the safety of the basement when the doorbell rings, or turned down an invitation to lunch because you’d rather dine with your characters, you know what I mean.

But the age of the internet does make it easier and more fun to meet and socialize with other people. I try to jump in only when it’s something that looks like it will be enjoyable to do. This is how I became a member of FAWG, an acronym that stands for FindAWritingGroup.com. I like the roundup he has of interesting writing-related posts each week. Even in a newspaper I read every day, I missed an article about the death of the slush pile, but it turned up in the roundup.

I think the idea is that rather than roaming from blog to blog looking for something that interests you, you can do one-stop shopping at FAWG. (I say shopping, but it’s all free.) Also, it’s a way to meet other writers, and it’s organized by geography. So, for example, I have set up the FAWG for Massachusetts, which is the state I live in. Most online groups I’m in have members scattered across the globe, which is fun in its own way. And I’ve even met people on those lists who live near me. But, obviously, that’s the exception rather than the rule. I know Nano has made a big push to have local groups, but that’s only one month of the year. So I thought it might be fun to try something ongoing.

Of course, RWA has local chapters. But when you add in the cost of joining RWA plus chapter dues, it can get pricey. The FAWG is free, and it’s more comprehensive in scope (not just romance).

I’m looking forward to the words of advice that any writer can post on the Wall of Wisdom. Last, but not least, I read about FAWG on Nathan Bransford’s blog. Which gives it some stamp of legitimacy to me. The guest blog is here: http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2010/01/guest-blog-week-is-your-but-too-big.html with the cute title “Is Your But too Big?” Don’t know how a guy came up with that one, lol.

So, any thoughts on this?

Does anyone have other ideas for promotion they’d like to share?

Here’s the link if you’re interested: http://www.findawritinggroup.com/Welcome_to_FindAWritingGrou.php





Carly Carson


http://www.carlycarson.com/

How to Promote Werewolves...Any Werewolf Specialty Shops out there??

My mother bought me two books on promotions for Christmas and I'm enjoying them, but....it's kind of hard for me to try out some of these super ideas for HEART OF THE WOLF.

One author sold his new book based on being a new father to hospitals, gift stores, etc. This is great.

Yes, go for niche marketing. If you have a book that features travel, hit up all the travel bureaus, airport gift shops, etc. Have a book about a local place where it has a lot of visitors looking for souvenirs, sell to the gift stores in the local area. My mother-in-law bought a mystery thriller, though she didn't usually read them, because it was set in Keene, NH where they had a cabin and it was pushed in that area, local setting, local author.

An author created a book about quilts for the crafter in mind and then self published because, according to publishers, people didn't make quilts anymore. Now since this lady was a quilter, attended numerous quilt shows all over the country, and had won at several shows, but most of all found there were NO books on how to quilt, she knew there was a market for it. So she self published. After selling to quilting craft stores and at shows all over the states....she sold 100K on her own, a publishing company picked her up for the next 100K. She's had several printings and written subsequent books on quilting.

But how do you sell werewolves? :)

For WINNING THE HIGHLANDER'S HEART, since there are plenty of real characters from Henry I's time in the book, I've played up the historical, medieval (I gave a talk about medieval life to a book club where we had wine and cheese!, and am scheduled to have a medieval garden type booth at a garden show), and Scottish aspects (sold to several Scots, and have a lot of Scots in my family tree)....I've been able to market based on several niches.)

But werewolves?

When we were at the movies to see Sweeny Todd (I was very fortunate to see the play in NYC some years ago), there were several trailers for other fantasy shows coming up. Urban fantasy/paranormal/fantasy are all still making their impact on the world.

Vampires...hmmm-hmm...acceptable. But werewolves?

Welcome to my world, where wolves are wolves with a human sensibility, and humans are gifted with the wolf's keen senses. See what happens when the lupus garou break free of the rules of their society, wreaking havoc, and threatening exposure of their special kind. Read how Devlyn rescues Bella only to find themselves in worse trouble than before.

HEART OF THE WOLF is set in Colorado and Oregon. So that's a niche! I went to college in Portland and my grandfather was one of the first doctors in Beaverton, suburb of Portland. Maybe a tie in? I lived in Colorado too. Another tie in?

So you have to find ways to get your work noticed. Finding a niche for more unusual kinds of books might be difficult, but not impossible! You just have to get a little creative!

HEART OF THE WOLF is coming out April Fool's Day. No fooling!

Terry Spear
www.terryspear.com