25 Words or Less

At EPICon, the workshop 25 Words or Less was given by Larry K and Lorna Collins.

Can you say what your book is about in 25 words or less?

If you can't, then you don't know what your book is about.

Why is this a good idea?

- Because it's essential to writing a tight book and then selling it.
- Aim to excite the reader.
- Tell what the book offers.
- Leave the listener wanting more.

Imagine yourself riding in an elevator at a conference. The door opens and in walks the agent/editor/publisher you think would be perfect for you and your book. You introduce yourself and... what do you say?

Can you summarize the plot or main idea in the 30 seconds before the elevator doors open again?

The perfect pitch:

- Summarizes the entire story
- Introduces an interesting character
- Introduces an interesting location or situation
- Identifies what the character has at stake
- Identifies a problem and the solution

Examples using What If:

What if four small fellows go on a quest and face many dangers in order to destroy a stolen ring?
What if a matchmaking young woman focuses on her friends but misses her own perfect match who has been there all along?
What if a CIA analyst helps a Soviet naval officer commanding a guided missile sub defect, with his submarine?

More examples:

When her sister is kidnapped by thugs, a romance writer soon finds her own adventure. But will the handsome fortune hunter she meets help her?
When Agape Jones, retired detective, finds the body of a famous surfer floating off Maui, he becomes involved in more than just a murder. (Murder in Paradise)

But be careful that your pitch isn't misleading.

Misleading: A young girl lands in a surreal world, kills the first person she meets, and then unites with three others to kill again.
Better: A farm girl is dropped into a surreal world, incurring the wrath of an evil witch. A scarecrow, woodsman, and lion help her get home.

Some quotes about pitches:

"Oftentimes, an agent or editor will ask, 'What's your book about?' It takes some serious work to get the bare bones down in 25 words or less, but once you do it, you'll be very happy you did so." ~Terry Brooks

"Unless you can reduce your book to 25 words or less, unless you can impress an agent or editor in less than 20 seconds with your pitch, the chances of finding a publisher for your book are low." ~Sam Horn

And now I'll share my own one-liner pitch for The Land of Imagining, the fantasy YA I'm shopping around to agents: A magical pen unleashes a young teen's power to control a fantasy world, a realm only she can save from evil. (21 words)

Next blog post: Interview with Shawna Williams. Be sure to check it out, she is offering a great contest for commenters, as well as a huge one on her site.

Update on my writing:

Progress is coming beautifully for my assassin WIP, the one I'm going to pitch to an editor from Luna at the Writers and Readers Get Together in June so I'm very pleased about that. Plus, I just finished The Claw of My Dreams, my short story that I plan on submitting to the Sword and Sorceress anthology. Anyone care to beta read it?

DIY Promo: How to Build your Buzz

This is the first of my notes from the EPIcon conference. First up, the promotion talk from author/editor Deidre Knight.

You need to work about promotion, even before you get signed.
Agents often goggle authors if they are interested in a submission.
So google yourself. What comes up?

There are many options for yet-to-be published and published authors that are both fast and free.
- Twitter (which works best with you connect with people and interact, not just constant tweet about your books, btw, follow me!)
- Ning (although I'm not sure how much longer ning groups really will be free, considering all the hoopla over them now)
- Facebook (you have two options here, profiles and pages. I have both. Feel free to join my fan page!)
- Yahoo e-groups (once you're published, you might considering creating one, but there are hundreds devoted to authors and writing, some are rather niche like the group for those trying to get published in Woman's World or the crimescenewriters where you can ask professionals questions about law and crimes and make your thrillers as realistic as possible)
- Blogs (free ones are available through Blogger, Wordpress, and LiveJournal)
- You Tube (Create your own channel)[This is one area in which I personally am lacking]

Author website
- Unless you are a computer genius, it would probably be a wise investment to have your website done by a designer. Why? Because the first thing a reader will do is type in www.yourname.com and look you up. It's important to have a professional website that reflects your writing style. Don't have a dark page unless you write suspense or thrillers.
- So how to find a web designer? Referrals are best. Or look up different authors' websites and if you find one that you love, look up the designer (usually at the bottom). One person to check out: Lex Valentine and her Winterheart Design.
- What info to include on your site: any info about your writing projects or publishes books, excerpts, awards, bio, headshot, sign up for newsletter, links to social media sites, contact email

Newsletter
- It's important that your newsletter has a consisttent look.
- Determine how often to mail it and stick to it, i.e. monthly (This is where I fall short. If you want to sign up for it, go to my website)
- Use html format
- Great to promote contests through widget, entries, etc.)

Join writer's organizations
- Such as Romance Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, etc.)
- Benefits? Networking, contests, exposure to classes or programs, conferences (where you can pitch to agents and meet editors)

Now for promoting yourself as a published author

Branding
- Determine your niche. What descriptive words represent your writing? What is your genre? Do you plan to stick with that type of book for the next few years? What images do you want assocaited with your brand?
- Have a consistent look on your website, online venues, and promotional material, your newsletter, etc.
- Develop a tag line for your book or series or even yourself and use it everywhere online.

Hiring a Publicist
- Weigh the pros and cons (Honestly, if you're making enough money from your writing that you can hire one, do you really need one? I personally don't think I'll ever hire a publicist.)

Offer contests and submit to some

Book Tours, both virtual and real

DIY Promo Plan
- Promo materials such as bookmarks, excerpt booklets, unquie product ideas (keychains, post-it notes, themed giveaways)
-Contests
- Website (keep it up-to-date)
- Virtual book tours (guest blogs)
- Promotional author sites (such as fresh fiction, authorbuzz, between your sheets)
- Local book signings (invite people you know, make sure local event listings have the time/date info, ask bookstore what they do to advertise signings and what you can do to help, send a press release to local media)
- Purchase web and print ads (a group ad is a great way to advertise for a lesser cost)
- Speaking opportunites (workshop panel at a conference, make yourself available to local librarys or writers organziation
-Keep your publisher in the loop (enlist their help in promoting your events and contests)


All in all, this session was a great deal of fun. Deidre was such a funny, intelligent woman who is passionate about writing and authors. It is very obvious that she loves what she does. I sent her an email with a query about The Land of Imagining (my fantasy YA novel) and am waiting as patiently as I can for a response.

Next workshop I'll share: 25 Words or Less. Reducing your story into one sentence, essentially your novel's log line. I'll even share my log line for The Land of Imagining. Stay tuned.

Back from Epicon

Well, I've been back from Epicon for a few days now and I'm still sleep-deprived, so tired that I can't even sleep. I hate that! Of course, some of that might be from the pregnancy.

This was my first Epicon, my first ever writer's conference, and I had a blast. It was a lot of fun. The best part was being about to put faces to names and just talking, even if it wasn't about writing.

We (hubby and baby came along) went on a vampire tour the first night. Hubby didn't care for it too much, he had expected something else. Basically, Adam, the tour guide, showed us different buildings where murders happened and the perpetrators drank blood. "Real" vampires don't have fangs, aren't killed by garlic or stakes, can go out in sunlight. Essentially, vampirism is a condition of the mind. It isn't real, although some people might think they are. Because I graduated from college with a concentration in forensic science, I took a lot of CJ and psych courses, and learning about serial killers have always fascinated me. I'm strange, I know, what can I say? So I really enjoyed the tour, although I do think that a lot of it was stretched for entertainment purposes.

On the tour, I met Sara Thacker. Great gal, we spent a fair amount of time together throughout the conference. During one of the lunches, Holly Jacobs gave the keynote speech. Hilarious! What a funny, charming lady. I really enjoyed her. So easy to talk to, too. Another doll was Laurie Larson. I was so thrilled for her when she won her EPIC E-Book Award for Preacher Man.

There were many others that were also wonderful to meet. Can't mention everyone by name though. All in all, it was a great experience. Even if I did have to wait forever to be served lunch one day because I couldn't eat the entree (crab wrapped in fish). The vegetarian plate was delicious though.

Next year, I probably won't be able to go to any conferences. Not with baby #2 going to be too young. So I might go to one or two (or zero) more this year. There's a local one the end of the month. (Registration ends in a few days so I really have to make up my mind about it quickly). Plus I'm thinking about the Lori Foster Get Together. I would be traveling by myself this time, should I go.

What conferences have you gone to? Where they worth it? What did you learn? Would you go back again?