Author: Dan Blank

Honing the Design of the FriendStories Blog

This is part of the Bittersweet Book Launch case study, where Dan Blank and Miranda Beverly-Whittemore share the yearlong process of launching her novel. You can view all posts here.

I am a big believer in launching things quickly, and then slowly honing them. Miranda and I chatted last week and came up with a number of ways to improve the burgeoning FriendStories blog. The goals:

  • How do we make it immediately clear what this site is about?
  • How do we immediately engage you in a story?

Here is the before and after of my work with it this week:

 

Changes made include:

  • Use an entirely new template. The was chosen very quickly,just to get the site live.
  • Create a banner that on a visual level, embodies the goal of the blog.
  • Develop something akin to a logo, though really it is just stylized words at the top of the page.
  • Add a descriptive tagline. We came up with: “Real stories of true friends.”
  • Created a brief blog description and added it to the top of the sidebar.
  • Changed the headlines for each post to quotes from the stories.

Do these changed make the site perfect? Nope! But they are steps in the right direction.

Thanks.
-Dan

No More B.S. About What It Takes To Be a Successful Writer

“You too can be a bestseller, just follow these simple steps!”

Ugh, I get queazy when I hear things like that. In the world of writing and publishing, too often, people are selling dreams. They over-promise; they present a tactic that worked once for someone, and pretend it is an easy replicatable system; they play on our fears and our dreams. For many, the process of “getting published” is about validation, and it doesn’t take a marketing genius to manipulate such a deep-seated human need.

This is bullshit.

I spend my days with writers, and have spend my entire life pursuing creative endeavors, from writing, to art, to photography, to music, and more. The truth is this:

  • It is difficult to create.
  • It is difficult to publish & share.
  • It is difficult to find an audience.
  • It is difficult to align all of this to revenue and income.

There, I said it. And I don’t just mean technologically difficult or skill-driven difficult, but EMOTIONALLY difficult. Now, before you break out the Kleenex, there is a lot of good news:

  • It is easier to create now than it ever has been before.
  • It is easier to publish & share than it ever has been before.
  • It is easier to find and engage an audience than it ever has been before.
  • It is easier to earn revenue and income from your creative work than it ever has been before.

I am the luckiest person in the world to know so many AMAZING folks within the writing and publishing worlds. People who – day to day – devote their time to helping great work spread. They are in publishing houses, in libraries, in bookstores, in literary agencies, in book clubs, in organizations, on social media, at their desks writing, and always: reading, reading, reading.

These people do not wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to publishing. They sort of operate in a constant balance between two states:

  • The total belief in the magic of words, of story, of how a book can reshape someone’s life.
  • They long ago became jaded by the story of publishing as a lottery ticket: where you are just moments away from instant stardom and bestseller-hood. They have a no B.S. approach to what it means to write, to publish, to get read. It’s work. The rewards don’t come easy. (but it’s worth it.)

So when I decided to hold a conference for writers, I immediately viewed it as a party whereby I would invite all of these amazing folks I know in the publishing and writing world as advisors and speakers. These are the realists, the dreamers, the pragmatists, the fans, the ranting raving speak-their-mind-ers, the people who do it because they love it, because they can’t NOT do it.

On November 13th and 14th, I am holding that party, and you are invited. It is called Get Read: Marketing Strategies for Writers, an online conference where you attend from wherever you are. Everything takes place online, you hear and engage with the speakers via online video and text chat during those two days.

The list of advisors and speakers so far is INCREDIBLE:

Jason Allen Ashlock is the president of Movable Type Management, which manages more than 100 authors. You can find Jason at http://mtmgmt.net and on Twitter at @jasonashlock.

 

 

Claire Cook is the bestselling author of 10 novels, including Must Love Dogs, which was adapted into a film starring Diane Lane and John Cusack. You can find Claire at ClaireCook.com and on Twitter at @clairecookwrite.

 

 

Elizabeth S. Craig is the author of more than 10 novels, including the BBQ mysteries series, Southern Quilting mysteries series and the Myrtle Clover mysteries series. You can find Elizabeth at http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com and on Twitter at @ElizabethSCraig.

 

 

Stephanie Anderson is the Head of Reader Services at Darien Library, and Manager Emeritus of WORD bookstore. You can find Stephanie at http://bookavore.tumblr.com and on Twitter at @bookavore.

 

 

Betsy Bird is a children’s book author, librarian, and review. You can find Betsy at http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/, http://www.betsybirdbooks.com and on Twitter at @fuseeight.

 

 

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez is a poet and Director, Content Strategy & Audience Development for Media Source, Inc.’s Library Journals, LLC, and was the founding Director of Programming & Business Development for Digital Book World. You can find Guy at LoudPoet.com and on Twitter at @GLeCharles

 

 

Ami Greko is a book marketing strategist at Goodreads, and the founder of Book Camp NYC, and unconference for publishing folks. You can find Ami at http://amiwithani.tumblr.com and on Twitter at @Ami_With_An_I

 

 

Rachel is a writer and in charge of literary and nonprofit outreach at Tumblr. She is the co-creator of Six-Word Memoirs and co-editor of the New York Times Bestseller Not Quite What I Was Planning and three other books. She is also the former public programming director at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe. You can find Rachel at http://rachelfershleiser.com and on Twitter at @RachelFersh.

 

 

Richard Nash is an independent publishing entrepreneur – VP of Community and Content of Small Demons, founder of Cursor, and Publisher of Red Lemonade. For most of the past decade, he ran the iconic indie Soft Skull Press. You can find Richard at http://rnash.com and on Twitter at @R_Nash.

 

 

Jenn Northington is an indie bookseller & event manager for Word Bookstores, and the co-founder of the Bookrageous podcast. You can find Jenn at http://jennirl.com and on Twitter at @JennIRL.

 

 

Kate Rados is the Director of Community Development at Crown Publishing. You can find Kate on Twitter at @KateRados.

 

 

M.J. Rose is the international bestselling author of 13 novels, as well as the creator of authorbuzz.com. You can find M.J. at mjrose.com and on Twitter at @mjrose.

 

 

Rebecca Schinsky is the senior editor at BookRiot.com and FoodRiot.com, as well as the founder of Bookrageous. You can find Rebecca at http://rebeccaschinsky.tumblr.com and on Twitter at @RebeccaSchinsky.

 

 

Therese Walsh is an author and co-founder of WriterUnboxed.com. You can find Therese at ThereseWalsh.com and on Twitter at @ThereseWalsh.

 

 

Chuck Wendig is a novelist, screenwriter, and game designer, as well as frequent blogger. You can find Chuck at TerribleMinds.com and on Twitter at @ChuckWendig.

 

 

I will be announcing more speakers and information on the event soon. If you are interested in attending, I am offering an early-bird discount through this Friday. Find out more about the event, and register here.

Thanks!
-Dan

On Time Management

This is part of the Bittersweet Book Launch case study, where Dan Blank and Miranda Beverly-Whittemore share the yearlong process of launching her novel. You can view all posts here.

by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore

One week into September and I can already see that organizing my schedule is going to be one of my greatest challenges in the nine months leading up to the publication of Bittersweet. As I writer, I’ve got to, well, write. Not just because that’s my job title, but because without writing in my life, none of the other stuff I have to do in order to support my writing seems remotely fun. But I’ve got so much other stuff to do that I’m finding a hard time making any spare moments in which to do the work I love.

Here’s what’s on my plate this week:

– go through the copy edit of Bittersweet and make any changes necessary (due 9/19)
– if possible, print out the copyedited version after I’ve gone through it and read Bittersweet from the beginning (due 9/19)
– go over editorial changes on my short story Frito Lay, due back to DailyLit ASAP
– read 3 MFA theses for Columbia University and write responses to students (due 9/23)
– Email the first round of contributors to Friendstories (by Friday)
– Write About page for Friendstories (by Friday)
– Scan in personal images for Friendstories and get them to Dan (by Friday)
– Edit and finalize first essay to go up on Friendstories (by Friday)
– Read five more books and send out blurb requests to their authors (ASAP)
– Continue to post on this blog on a regular basis

Then there are the longer-term goals, say, in the next six weeks:

– Revise my author questionnaire in anticipation of meeting my publicist
– Start posting on Friendstories
– Create more content for Friendstories
– Reach out to more Friendstories contributors
– Begin compiling wishlists of blogs and publications to reach out to on Bittersweet’s behalf
– Write planned essays and stories which will help promote Bittersweet

Not to mention the creative goal:

– Write another book!

Or the life goals:

– Feed my family
– go through all my moth-eaten sweaters
– clean my writing room so I have an office again
– be an attentive mama and wife (aka not distracted and stressed 24/7).

Phew.

How on earth am I going to do all that?

I think the trick is to start my day with the creative. I’ve got four days a week with full-time childcare, and I’m starting to think that what I need to do on those days is begin with my book. No excuses, no exceptions. Two hours of writing time and I’ll be in a much better mood.

Of course, I won’t be able to do that until this immediate round of deadlines is off my plate (although copyediting doesn’t feel like creative work, I’m telling myself that it’s in the service of creativity, so it has to count). And I fear that once this week’s work is off my plate, another tide will move in to replace it, and I’ll never find my creative mind again! But I guess I just have to have faith.

And try not to feel so grumpy in the process.

Anatomy of a Book Blurb: Kimberly McCreight

This is part of the Bittersweet Book Launch case study, where Dan Blank and Miranda Beverly-Whittemore share the yearlong process of launching her novel. You can view all posts here.

by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore

“Part coming-of-age story, part riveting mystery, Bittersweet is a tantalizing tale of an outsider thrust into a glittering world of immense privilege and suspect morals. With a narrator torn between uncovering one family’s dark secrets and protecting her own, Bittersweet brilliantly explores the complicated question of what price any of us would pay to seize the life of our dreams.” -Kimberly McCreight, author of Reconstructing Amelia

I’m thrilled about the quote that just came in today from my friend Kim, who I know originally not from writing, but from fellow Brooklynite mommydom (my sister also made her book trailer). Kim’s someone whose perseverance I greatly admire (Reconstructing Amelia is the fifth book she’s written and the first she’s sold); her road to publication was a long one, but she kept at it, nose to grindstone, and that determination has translated into unbelievable success (Nicole Kidman, anyone?).

Of all the people I’m asking to blurb my book, Kim is the closest friend, but that didn’t in any way diminish my nervousness (in fact, I find asking friends for professional favors makes me  jumpy; I’m always sure they’re going to reveal some hidden loathing for my work, which, you know, makes friendship a bit awkward from then on out). Also, what if she said yes and then I just never heard from her? How would I be brave enough to prompt her? What if she just replied, “I hated it?”

Luckily, it sounds like she didn’t! Beyond that, she was prompt and quick and just as friendly as ever. I’m counting my lucky stars that I have two such great quotes from writers I so admire this early in the game. Thank you, Kim and Kate!

Back to Work

This is part of the Bittersweet Book Launch case study, where Dan Blank and Miranda Beverly-Whittemore share the yearlong process of launching her novel. You can view all posts here.

As summer wound down for Miranda, she said “In only nine days, I’ll be back in my “normal” life.” And that “normal” life for an author is, well, work.

We romanticize the lives of creative professionals. We envision them with loads of freedom, of being able to react on whims, and that their successes are fueled by passion, not grueling hard boring work. And yet, the life of a writer can, and perhaps should, include copious amounts of grueling hard boring work.

Now, these are clearly not the right words to use, but I am simply trying to make a point. One of my favorite movies is Jiro Dreams of Sushi, which embodies the value of dedicating oneself to the habit of work, and what can be achieved via sustained effort over the course of decades.

Miranda and I talked about the space that was needed in late summer, even though she was working hard on editing, pursuing blurbs, laying the foundation for revising her author platform, and setting up the FriendStories.com blog (which is not yet really launched.)

It would be so easy, it would feel so natural, to just keep ambling along, waiting for 2014 to really start efforts to get the word out about Bittersweet. And yet, here we are in early September, getting back to work. For Miranda and I, our summer check-in phone calls are quickly changing to more structured calls, and assigning “homework” each week.

I am seeing lots of momentum building in Miranda’s life around the book already, with a HUGE thanks to the many folks involved in bringing Bittersweet to life. Yes, Miranda is at the very center of that as the author, but so many others are invested in this process.

And now it is our job to serve them, and help them serve the story.

It’s time to go to work.
-Dan