Rachel Carrington's Blog

What's missing from my site?

10/31/2015

If you visit often, you'll notice that the Author Services section is now missing from my site. I haven't stopped working with authors; I just moved all of that information to a separate site so this one could focus solely on my writing as it should!

If you're looking for author services, visit my new blog.

If you're looking for a book video for your upcoming novel, you can find that site here!

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You're not reading?

10/17/2015

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I've been reading a fair amount of author interviews lately, and I'm surprised by the number of writers saying they don't have time to read because they're too busy writing.

Reading, to me, is a necessity for anyone, but especially for authors. Why? Well, I really can't say it any better than Roz Morris. In her interview at The Write Practice four years ago, she said "Reading—the good and the bad—inspires you. It develops your palate for all the tricks that writers have invented over the years. You can learn from textbooks about the writing craft, but there’s no substitute for discovering for yourself how a writer pulls off a trick. Then that becomes part of your experience."

I will add that you need to know the market, what is selling and what isn't. And by reading, you can quickly discover what would draw a reader to that story line. On top of that, our brains need time to recharge, and reading is one of the best ways to do that.

And finally, supporting your fellow authors by reading their books is a great way to give back to the writing community.

So I would encourage you to read for enjoyment, read to learn, and read to give your brain a boost!

And in case you're wondering what I'm reading right now, it's The Dragon Who Loved Me by G.A. Aiken.

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10 Ideas to Help Sell 10 Books

10/4/2015

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It's easy to get stagnant when it comes to promoting. Sometimes, you feel like you've run out of ideas. The ones I'm sharing here can help jumpstart your own creativity and get you moving toward more sales....maybe even more than ten!

Write a creative news release about your book and send it out. Even if your book isn’t a new release, find some way to connect it to today’s news or something about how you wrote it. Just make it newsworthy and get it out there. You can find people on fiverr.com who will send out press releases for $5.00 and even write them if you have difficulty doing that.
Take several sets of bookmarks to at least three area libraries. If you don’t have bookmarks, you can get them inexpensively at gotprint.com. People do still check out books, and getting your bookmarks into their hands ups the chances of them asking for your book.
Sign up for a local book fair (or one close to you). Do it now before you can talk yourself out of it. Once you’ve committed yourself, make an announcement on all social media and prepare another press release.
Adapt a chapter of your novel (if your book is non-fiction) and submit it as an article to several online sites. Bonus: You can sell these articles! If your book isn’t non-fiction, write a unique article about the book and submit it. Try writing about the setting, an artifact that is featured prominently, or the history behind a certain real character.
Contact ten authors who have newsletters and ask to swap mentions. You can be mentioned in theirs, and they can be mentioned in yours.
Get interviewed on blog radio. Yes, this one is a bit more of a challenge, but there are plenty of radio shows out there looking for guests. If you are unable to find one, then go to Fiverr.com and pay $5.00 for an ad to be placed on one of the radio shows.
Contact one local columnist (this can even be for a small newspaper) in your area with a personal note or invite them to lunch. Don’t let this come across as a sales pitch, but you do want to have your business card handy. You want to let them know you are a local author, but you also want to give them a reason why they should meet with you. Everyone has something unique about themselves. Don’t just try to pitch your book. Pitch yourself.
Get scheduled for interviews at five blogs (at least). Yes, you have to track these down, but my assistant got me scheduled for over twenty interviews one month alone so it can be done! During the interview, you’re going to talk about this book, even if it is a backlist title.
Write personal thank you notes to five to ten reviewers who have reviewed your book and send. Yes, this can be in an email, but it’s even better if it’s a card you send through the mail.
Do some research and find a celebrity or news figure that likes to read your type of book. Send a copy to that celebrity. You can usually find their agent contact information online.

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What's missing from my site?

You're not reading?

10 Ideas to Help Sell 10 Books

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