Breaking Out of Your Circle by Melanie Hooyenga

I’ve been a self-published author for over three years, and while I’ve had great reviews and enthusiasm over my books, my sales left something to be desired. At the beginning of 2015, I challenged myself to break out of my circle—to get myself and my books in front of people I didn't know through book reviews, guest blogging, interviews, personal appearances, book signings, etc.—and in one year, my sales increased eight-fold.

Here’s what worked for me:

Make Goals

If you’re starting from nothing like I was, aim for getting yourself in front of one new audience per month. Take an afternoon to scour the internet for bloggers and review sites, then designate one day per week to contact them. Keep your list on a physical calendar or whiteboard to hold yourself accountable—it’s harder to ignore goals when they’re staring at you from the wall.

Make Connections

Reach out to book bloggers. Talk to your local bookstore. Join Facebook groups, both local and national. I found book fairs, art fairs, and farmers’ markets through those groups, and while they weren’t all successful in terms of sales, they helped me hone my pitch and meet more authors, teachers, and librarians—the people you want to know. Book reviewers and bloggers looking for authors to interview frequent these pages as well.

Have a book coming out soon? Write a press release and send it to the local newspapers and radios—and don’t forget high school papers and college alumni magazines! Stop by the local bookstore when they aren’t busy and ask if they’d be willing to host a book launch party.

Watch the Sales Roll In

I wish it were that easy, but it takes a lot of time and persistence. The connections I made at the smaller events led to invitations at larger venues, and it’s snowballed from there. But don’t be afraid to think differently. I live in craft-beer land, so I approached the owner of a brewery to host a book event there. I met a radio station manager at a work event and asked if he’d be interested in interviewing a local author. (He was.) Brainstorm with other authors.

Final Tips

Looking back, I was quite pitiful at my first event. I had my books, my autograph pen, and my credit card reader—what else did I need? Let me tell you what’s in my “event box” now:

• Black tablecloth (some places provide one but you don’t want to the only author stuck with the bare table)
• Newsletter sign-up sheet (and depending on how large the crowd will be, a sign stating they’ll be entered to win a $25 Amazon gift card for signing up). TIP: add a signature or two to the top of the list. No one likes to be the first name.
• Candy (Bonus if it ties into your books)
• A sign with book prices
• Display copies of each book so people only handle one copy—this also keeps the table neater.
• An 18x12 poster with book covers that clearly says author name & genre
• Postcards! (YOU MUST HAVE TAKEAWAYS.)
• I plan to add a pop-up banner to my arsenal this year.

My biggest advice is don’t be afraid to speak up and tell people about yourself—especially at events. Make eye contact, smile, and be friendly. There’s a fine line between being persistent and being obnoxious, but when you find it, good things will happen.

Melanie Hooyenga first started writing as a teenager and finds she still relates best to that age group. She has lived in Washington DC, Chicago, and Mexico, but has finally settled down in her home state of Michigan with her husband Jeremy. When not at her day job as Communications Director, you can find Melanie attempting to wrangle her Miniature Schnauzer Owen and playing every sport imaginable with Jeremy.

Learn more at http://www.melaniehoo.com/ 

Coming up on the Mitten blog: We're still recovering from the jam-packed weekend at the Wild, Wild Midwest SCBWI Conference, but we'll have a recap soon. You can help by sending your conference photos and take-aways (a few sentences about what you learned, or an ah-ha moment) to kristinbartleylenz@gmail.com. 

But first, Patti Richards is coordinating another Writer's Spotlight. Who will it be? Find out next Friday.

Have a great weekend!

Kristin Lenz

Things I Learned While Writing a Trilogy by Melanie Hooyenga

I recently published the third book in my YA trilogy, The Flicker Effect, and this release was far more stressful than the previous two. Writing a novel—not to mention publishing it—is a huge accomplishment, and I could have used this advice to avoid unexpected bumps along the way.

Planning to write a trilogy, or already in the middle? I hope this helps!

It’s very very important to keep a character bible.

When I wrote the first book, FLICKER, I hadn’t planned to write a trilogy. It was only after I finished that I realized it had series potential, and I’d neglected to take some very important notes while during the writing process. Case in point: Mid-way through the first draft of the second book, FRACTURE, I couldn’t remember my main character’s last name. I didn’t remember even GIVING her a last name. But since I never kept track of that HUGE detail, I had to skim through ALL OF FLICKER to make sure. Nope, I never called her anything beyond Biz, and her BFF Amelia refers to Biz’s dad as Mr. Biz.

I started a loose guide at that point, but with FADED, the third book, I ran into the same problem. I don’t spend a lot of time naming secondary characters—I often write the first name that pops into my head—so when a new character from chapter three resurfaces ten chapters later, there’s very little to help me recall that person’s name.

It’s difficult to promote books 2 and 3 without giving away THE BIG THING from books 1 and 2.

While working on the back cover copy for FADED, I was faced with this challenge: how do I refer to the BIG HUGE LIFE-CHANGING EVENT that was the climax of the previous book without giving away the ending to those who haven’t read it? You need to hook readers so they’ll want to read it, but for someone who’s never read any of my books, I don’t want them to skim through the descriptions of each one and be disappointed.

My solution? I stuck with vague details that focus on a big event that opens the book, with a few hints of trouble to come:

Biz didn’t think life could get worse after after the tragic events that surrounded her last flicker, but when she accidentally flickers on her eighteenth birthday after doing shots of vodka—she’s forced to face the consequences of her actions in a way she never imagined.

When an anonymous email threatens to reveal her secret, Biz must decide if flickering is all it’s cracked up to be, or if she needs to stop. Forever.

Generic adjectives like “tragic” and phrases like “forced to face the consequences” may not be the most elegant solution, but they allow a glimpse of what’s coming without giving away the ending of book two.

Ending a trilogy is much bigger than ending a stand-alone book.

Concluding a book has always been a challenge for me. I don’t want the ending to be trite or clichéd, or worse, leave readers feeling unsatisfied (well, except for the end of FRACTURE which was definitely a cliffhanger), and I often struggle with finding the perfect way to end a story.

Well, multiply that times a hundred for ending a series. Based on my outline, I was still several chapters from The End when I realized, “Hey, I’m already in the end.” Story lines that started in FLICKER were wrapping up without me realizing it (this is the stuff we writers say that annoys non-writers) so I had to back-track and make sure ALL the loose ends were tucked neatly away. The character arcs from books one and two had to close as well. As my husband teases me: ALL THE THINGS. There was a lot more than I expected, but I’m happy with how it came together.

You’ll both dread and look forward to saying goodbye to your characters.

FADED was published in June and I’ve said goodbye to Biz, Cameron, Amelia, and my new favorite character Quinn. They’ve been with me since 2010 and while it makes me sad to let them go, I’m excited to get to know the characters in my next book. I still need to do character development projects to learn what makes them tick (I know Cally loves to ski, but what’s her favorite subject in school, or her least-favorite food?) and I’m a little nervous I won’t love them the same.

Then again, they say there’s always a special place in your heart for your first love.

Melanie Hooyenga first started writing as a teenager and finds she still relates best to that age group. She has lived in Washington DC, Chicago, and Mexico, but has finally settled down in her home state of Michigan with her husband Jeremy. When not at her day job as a graphic designer, you can find Melanie attempting to wrangle her Miniature Schnauzer Owen and playing every sport imaginable with Jeremy.

Learn more at http://www.melaniehoo.com/ 

Coming up on the Mitten blog: We're heading back to school with a 3-part craft series on Voice, and Patti Richards is collecting your good news for another round of Hugs and Hurrahs. Email Patti at pgwrites5@gmail.com.

Cheers!
Kristin Lenz