Topic 17 Marketing

                             THE 4 P'S OF MARKETING

Greetings,
 Halloween is almost upon us here in the U.S. and I got to thinking about the way candy (the product) is priced, placed and promoted to the consumer. When you purchase your favorite candy, have you ever thought about the many hours people sat around a board room discussing the 4 P's, product, price, place, and promotion, before their candy creation even left the warehouse?
   
If the 4 P's of marketing are extremely important to top candy manufacturers, should writers take the well-formulated marketing strategy lightly when our product, in this case a novel, is ready to be seen by the public? Definitely not.
   
But why wasn't packaging included you might ask? Packaging is wrapped up with product. It keeps things simple.

Let's begin with PRODUCT. You are the builder of your product. Is the editing as good as it can be? Have you asked someone else to clean the product up, meaning the proofing and editing of your work before it leaves your personal space for good? Do you feel good about the work you've just written or were you careless here and there in order to get it off to the press on time? Be honest.

When you wrote the novel, did you take into consideration what age bracket would be reading it and which group of people would be interested in it? After your manuscript has been examined by others, did you toss around ideas for your cover, and seek help in the design if needed? Remember, the perfect cover draws people to your work not away from it. Make sure to select the right one.

PRICE. Setting the right price for your product can earn you sales. Too high and people won't purchase it. When my third novel came out in 2011, a self-published one, I had to decide whether I wanted to sell it for $.99  or $9.99 as an e-book. Wanting of course a fair amount for my book,
I chose the higher price. I don't think I need to explain how the e-book sales are doing. As proud as I am of the written word in this novel and its attractive cover, I failed to determine the right price.

PLACE. Where will your novel be displayed? Location, location, location is just as important as the product. For Mc Donald's or any other food chain the corner of a very busy intersection is the top location choice. Where will your widest audience see your novel offered - in book stores, libraries, events or Amazon? Choose wisely.    

PROMOTION. The book is hot off the press. Is this when you promote it? Not according to all the sources I've read. You should be promoting the book six months before the printed form is in your hands. Send out press releases, search for people to write reviews. Share a snippet with your fans on your author page, website, blog, Tweet or anywhere else you can think of. It's time to toot your horn, the way only you can. Ask fans and friends to spread the word.

How have you promoted your book? What factored into where to show your book? I'd love to share your comments with those who read my blog.

Getting back to candy for a moment, which packaging grabs you the most? Ask yourself why?

Until next time
This is Marlene Chabot

Topic 16 Writing Tips from Fellow Bloggers/Writers

Greetings,
If you'e been writing for some time now, you've discovered most writers don't fly solo. What I mean by that is we attend writer groups in our area or belong to several online. Which ever group you belong to I'm sure you appreciate the welcomed advice from fellow colleagues as I do.

In my last blog I suggested we take time to read other authors' books, but don't forget about all the worthwhile writers's blogs out there. Learning about tools of the trade can be beneficial to you too. I know it's a time consuming task and to be honest I certainly don't read everyone sent my way via the Internet. I'd have no time for writing. But since I've been in limbo for the past couple weeks waiting to hear about my fifth novel being picked up for publishing, I've had tons of free time on my hands - that is in between reading, housework, and selling books at events - and I've read some interesting blogs.

Most of the blogs I've flagged for myself to read now or later can be found on Writer Unboxed. com. The authors are very talented and the majority of them hold master degrees in English or literature. The wide diversity of articles encompasses such topics as stage directions, scenes for the story, marketing plans, writing a synopsis, what motivates your character, and why book PR needs lead time.    

Let's take a look at some things I've personally gleaned recently from writers on Writer Unboxed.

The first topic that comes to mind is "Scenes for the Story - Types Add Complexity - 15 to Enliven the Plot" by Jordan Rosenfield and Martha Anderson. According to these two writers strong plots are built upon a mixture of Emotion, Theme, and Action. What I didn't realize myself was a theme takes the drivers seat, displaying itself in every scene. Although Rosenfield and Anderson say theme should be in every sentence too, I don't know if I'd be able to accomplish that with my style of writing. How about you?

Next up, Lisa Cron's article "Who Knows More About Story's Writers or the Pentagon." This article is all about the protagonist's internal struggle and how readers' brains are wired to that. "The protagonist  backstory must be present on page one," Cron says, "... it gives the reader empathy." How have you done in this area with your writing? I think I've just scored a point.

"Marketing Plan" by Jon Bard - "Build it not around your book but around how it will enhance your readers life." Good point. Will your book give them a good laugh or inspiration for the day? I like to add humor to my books. Too much suspense can put the reader on edge.

Moving on to Drew Chial - "How to Turn A Complex Story Into A Simple Synopsis". I don't know about you but I hate writing a synopsis or a query. I'm never sure how much or how little to include. Chial and others have suggested keeping the synopsis to one page which makes sense. "Start with a basic framework and build outward," Chial said. Using a "barebones structure" he recommends dividing our paragraphs into Acts 1-3. This article then gives you specific questions to answer for each act. All I can say as a writer is, "Thanks Drew Chial for such a common sense article."

I hope the snippets I've shared with you today will be as beneficial to you as they were to me  when they popped up on my laptop. Don't forget, writers can learn a lot from each other.

Do you have any interesting articles you feel would be beneficial to my readers? If so, please share.

Until Next Time

This is Marlene Chabot

Mystery Writer