Category Archives: Kristin Luna

November is The Business of Writing Month

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Hello, faithful readers and new readers alike!

Ah, November. For most people, it’s just… November.  For writers, it can be one of the busiest months of the year. It’s got Thanksgiving in there, it’s the month before some big holidays in December, and it’s National Novel Writing Month. November is a great month for writing, but it’s also good for going a little insane trying to juggle all of these commitments as a writer and still trying to be real live person.

Bear with us, dear readers, as we try to not go insane this November. In fact, we’re keeping our left-brains in check this month by diving into the business side of writing. You’ll read posts about some of the more logical and analytical aspects of being a writer, such as:

  • Working with an editor
  • Beta-readers
  • Hiring a cover artist
  • Marketing vs. advertising
  • Networking
  • And more!

As a special treat, we also have guest posts from the likes of Lisa Mangum, Stephan McLeroy, Nick Ruva, Heidi Wilde, and Sam Sykes.

Help keep us sane by commenting on our posts and sharing them with your friends!

Happy reading!

Kristin

Effective Twitter Marketing: It’s Not All About You

Craft & Skills Kristin Luna Marketing The Writing Life Writing Tools 2 Comments

It’s an age-old adage that you never thought would apply to social media: you get what you give. Let me explain.

You may not hear this often, but I love my day job. While I’d love for writing to become my full-time gig, for now, I’m loving social media marketing.  I work for a good company, have a good boss, and have learned fantastic skills that also carry over into my writing career.

Going into the job, I had a bit of an advantage. Myspace and Facebook were originally marketed to my generation.  Contacting friends, making plans, maintaining friendships and asking questions on Facebook walls and feeds is second nature.

However, using social media for marketing purposes seemed quite daunting. Thankfully, it only took a few weeks on the job to realize how wonderful and intuitive marketing on Twitter can be.  Let’s work through it.

When I say ‘Twitter marketing’, what’s your first thought? Sponsored ads? Shameless self-promotion?  What does marketing on your own Twitter feed look like? I can imagine you’ve seen all of the above (and question your own Twitter strategy from time to time), and it annoys you as much as it does everyone else.

But I guarantee you this: the most effective marketing you’ll ever see on Twitter is a tweet that you don’t even know is marketing.

Here’s an example. Well three of them, actually.

Check out these three authors’ Twitter feeds.  You don’t need an account in order to see their tweets:

Jonathan Carroll: https://twitter.com/JSCarroll

Margaret Attwood: https://twitter.com/MargaretAtwood

Amanda Hocking: https://twitter.com/amanda_hocking

The first thing you’ll notice is that all three of these authors are very active on Twitter. Screen shot 2013-10-23 at 3.30.17 PMAmanda Hocking has almost as many followers (nearly 25k) as she does actual tweets (over 27k). Not only do these authors post often, but they also re-tweet others and interact with their Twitter followers. These authors are building a relationship with each of their fan bases at large.  They are building trust. This should be our first lesson.

Screen shot 2013-10-23 at 3.29.28 PM

Next, you may find it curious that they don’t constantly tweet about their books, signings, when their books are on sale, etc. They tweet about their days, they tweet fun pictures, they tweet quotes. Only every now and again do these authors tweet about a book coming out, or a book signing. This is the second lesson: Twitter should not be primarily used for self-promotion.

So how should we use Twitter?

Screen shot 2013-10-23 at 3.32.38 PMIf we could learn just one lesson from studying these three authors’ Twitter pages, it’s this: you get what you give. This is what most people don’t quite get – at least not right away. The secret to a successful Twitter identity is giving value to those who follow you. Interacting with, encouraging, and accepting your followers as part of your tribe is how you add value to their lives, and how you build a loyal fan base.  You appear to be accessible and approachable, which is the key.

Twitter and other social media sites should only be a part of your overall marketing plan, but it can become your secret weapon. The more you interact – the more you give – the more you will receive in return.

 

74350Kristin Luna is a Marketing Consultant by day and writer by break of dawn. She is currently moving to a house with a swimming pool. Kristin, a descendant of the infamous Dread Pirate Roberts, is working on a Young Adult fantasy trilogy. When she isn’t contemplating marketing campaigns or writing, she’s vacuuming, playing board games, tasting craft beers, watching Homeland, reading, or pushing her clingy cat off of her lap.

 

 

Jump-start Your Writing Routine with NaNoWriMo

Craft & Skills First Drafts Kristin Luna Storyline The Writing Life Writing Tools 3 Comments

If you told me that I’d write my first book in a month, I’d say, “Thanks, and here’s the beer I promised you for saying that.” Because, in truth, I had already worked on one book for three years, and in that time, I’d given it more treatments than a Beverly Hills housewife. And I hadn’t even finished writing it.

If spending three years writing one thing sounds a little nutty to you, imagine how I felt, especially being an impatient person.

It occurred to me that I had been looking at this writing thing all wrong. Well, wrong for me.

So I wiped the slate clean. I postponed writing short stories, put the labor of love novel on hold, and started outlining a new story. By piecing the new story together as a YA novel, I realized it would be easier to cut my teeth on than a dramatic literary fiction piece (which will be The Next Great American Novel… just give it time).

Instead of slaving through paragraphs, scrutinizing word usage and generally trying to make the labor of love perfect, I put all of my energy into preparing my new story. I used National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) as my diving board– no more dipping my toes in the water.

I wrote approximately 57,000 words in 28 days.  More importantly, I finished writing a book.

But I couldn’t have done it without a game plan.

How to Jump-start Your Writing Routine with NaNoWriMo

Realize what writing a book in a month actually means.

Yeah, sounds like a doozy. I know. But lets do some MATHS (even though we hates it, the filthy mathsies).

Let’s say you’re planning on writing a young adult novel. The average young adult book is between 50,000 and 60,000 words. This isn’t a rule, and you’ll find plenty of books that aren’t. But it’s easier to do the MATHS if we just say 60,000.

    •  There are 30 days in November.
    •  If you write every day in the month of November (spoiler alert: you should), then you need to write 2,000 words a day.
    • Don’t worry, dude. You can do that.

Realize what writing a book in a month means for you.

Clear your calendar, bro. Do not agree to take Taekwondo classes with your boss in November.  Do not schedule voluntary surgical procedures during this time. What I mean to say is: make writing your top priority (or one of your top priorities). Let your boss know what you’re going to be doing. Tell your family and loved ones. Buy lots of snacks and make a little squirrel stash at your writing desk. Create a good headspace for yourself. For example, I didn’t drink alcohol during the entire month (I missed you, beer! We had a tearful reunion at the end of November).

Realize what writing a book in a month means for everyone you love.

You may daydream about November – you, all hunched over a laptop wearing your sexy, hipster bifocals with two fingers of scotch in a glass next to you while you brood at the screen. Or, this may just be you.  In any event, this is what your family and/or loved ones will see: an angsty hobbit creature J.D. Salinger-ing it in its office.

You may think, around the 10th of November, that you are still speaking clearly and concisely to your wife. To her, your words are nothing more than animal-like grunts, and when you look at her, your eyes are a permanent, gazed-over haze. This is why the planning phase is so important: tell loved ones you’ll become a hobgoblin in advance.  Make them promise they won’t get mad at you, leave you, call the cops on you, or burn all of your clothes.

Plan for everything.

Some important things to consider before November rolls around:

  • What time of the day will you sit down and write?  If you don’t make that appointed time, when is your Plan B writing time?
  • Your in-laws are visiting? This is your one opportunity to say (and mean) “Ain’t nobody got time for that!” Okay. We all know that’s not going to work, so instead, explain that you’re writing an entire friggin’ novel in a month, and you’ll need some quiet and alone time every day for at least an hour.
  • Crap. You missed a day.  How will you make up for those 2,000 words? Write 4,000 the next day? Spread it out over a couple of days?
  • Outline your entire novel in September and October. Take as much time as you need on your outline. Know the story you are going to tell so you don’t get stuck during November.

Use the tools that are available to you.

Take advantage of the NaNoWriMo website, which sends you helpful tips as the month goes on, provides tools to help you track word count, and connects you with other crazy writers NaNoWriMo participants.

NaNoWriMo may not work for everybody.  But if you’re looking to jump in to your first book, finish writing a book, or set up a daily writing routine, it’s an extremely efficient practice.  Remember, it’s never too late to start, and it’s never to late to try something new. You may find that concentrated bursts of writing help you complete projects and help you establish a routine that works for you.

 

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Kristin Luna is a Marketing Consultant by day and writer by break of dawn. She sings to one of her cats, but the other cat doesn’t care for her voice. Kristin, a descendant of the 74350infamous Dread Pirate Roberts, is currently working on a Young Adult fantasy trilogy. When she isn’t contemplating marketing campaigns or writing, she’s designing handbags for gerbils, playing board games, tasting craft beers, teaching her cats sign language, reading, or getting in cabs saying, “To the library – and step on it!”. She is kidding about only two of those hobbies.

 

Barbie Queen of The Prom: A Cautionary Tale

Conventions Craft & Skills Kristin Luna Storyline The Writing Life 1 Comment
The Barbie Queen of The Prom board

I’ve always been a big fan of board games.  Although my taste in board games has become more refined with the likes of Dominion, 7 Wonders, Agricola, Age of Empires III and more, I had to start somewhere. And I started with Barbie Queen of the Prom (BQP).

First, some background. Growing up, I primarily lived with my dad and my brother. I had to sit through countless hours of He-Man, college basketball, pro basketball, G.I. Joe, golf, and occasionally baseball. While I do appreciate all of these things, let’s just say I paid my dues. So every now and again, my dad and brother let me pick out which board game I wanted to play, and I would almost always choose Barbie Queen of the Prom. And I’m just going to write it now so the embarrassment for them is over quickly: my dad or my brother almost always won. They always got to be queen of the prom! *Folds arms, grumpy face*

The dreamboats.

Anyhoo, something funky was going on with BQP.  I had the re-boot version of the 1960’s board game, and apparently the rules weren’t any clearer in the 90’s than they were back in the 60’s (kind of like actual prom – ZING!). The basic premise is this: you start out with some Barbie bucks and with those you accumulate a dress, a hairstyle, a ride to the prom, and a boy to take to the prom (you didn’t have to pay for the boy, thank goodness). Then, when you got to the prom, you spin (sometimes over and over and over) until somebody gets to be prom queen.

But here’s the weird part – when you got to prom, if you landed on a friend tile (a token with one of Barbie’s friends on it), you picked it up. But the rules were extremely vague about what you actually did with this token. Before this point, every token accumulated was used in exchange for something. After some careful speculation, my dad, brother and I could come to no other conclusion but you could trade in one of your friends for an extra spin – that is to say: another chance to become queen of the prom.

What. The. (Youknow.)

All social conditioning from the first part of the game aside, what’s up with this trading in your friends thing?! That’s so not cool, man.

The moral of my story is this: when things aren’t clear, people can’t help but assume. In writing and in life, if you don’t make things clear, things will start to go awry.

Also, if something doesn’t ring true, people will notice.

All games take a bit of imagination and fantasy in order to come alive. Make sure that whatever you develop rings true and leads the audience in exactly the direction you want them to go (even if that direction is misdirection), or they may just start trading in their friends for a chance to be queen of the prom.

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74350

Kristin Luna is a Marketing Consultant by day and writer by break of dawn. She prefers to wear t-shirts. Kristin, a descendant of the infamous Dread Pirate Roberts, is currently working on a Young Adult fantasy trilogy. When she isn’t contemplating marketing campaigns or writing, she’s crocheting, playing board games, figuring out yoga, teaching her cats sign language, reading, or getting in cabs saying, “To the library – and step on it!”. She is kidding about only two of those hobbies.