Connie Briscoe on Writing, Promoting Your Book, the Literary Scene and More

Publishers Invited to Nominate Authors and Poets to Participate in the 2008 NAACP Author Pavilion

The 2008 Author Pavilion, sponsored by the NAACP, will be held at the NAACP 99th National Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio on July 12th through 15th, 2008. In the past 4 years approximately 7,000 patrons attended the National Conventions, which take place during the 3rd week in July.

WHAT: The NAACP invites publishers to nominate authors and poets to participate in the 2008 Author’s Pavilion. Preferred candidates are popular, nationally known authors who have won book awards or are best sellers at the national level. Publishers or Authors are expected to support the travel, hotel and miscellaneous expenses of accepted nominees to make their travel arrangements.

WHEN: At the 39th Annual Commerce and Industry Show July 12 through 15th during the NAACP 99th National Convention, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Meet and greets, Presentation Panels, book signings and live In the Café with Mocha Show tapings are the heart of the NAACP Author Pavilion experience, which is designed to bring readers together with their favorite writers and poets.

Author interviews and Author Pavilion Highlights will be seen and heard on the NAACP Website www.naacp.org/events/convention/99th after the convention. For additional information, please visit www.naacpauthorpavilion.com.

Founded in 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its more than half-million adult and youth members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities and monitors of equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.

PBE specializes in creating literary events in a variety of non-traditional venues and seeks out exciting new locales for readers and authors to connect. PBE is the sister company to The Oracle Group which produces the literary talk show “In the Café with Mocha.”

CONTACTS: Nominations should be sent by May 1st 2008 to Mocha Ochoa. Her email is mocha@professionalbookevents.com and her telephone number is 301-461-6925.

Photo credit: Belterz/iStockphoto

By LaConnie Taylor-Jones

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Have you ever been on a roller coaster ride? For thrill-seeking adventurers, the experience is nothing short of exhilarating. From ascent to descent, the lung capacity short-circuits and the heart skips a beat or two before lurching back into rhythm again. An indescribable high, too complicated to verbalize but so easily felt, races inside with every loop, twist, and climb. In the end, the challenge is every bit as rewarding as the excitement.

This is exactly what I experienced in February 2008 during my month-long virtual book tour.

There’s not an author on the face of the earth who’s written a book and didn’t promote it in some fashion. Personally, I don’t consider virtual book tours as another craze that will eventually run its course over time. I hail them as a sophisticated marketing tool that authors in the twenty-first century have at their disposal, but with some very distinct and enhanced features, advantages and benefits (FABs).

The concept of a virtual book tour isn’t complicated, but it does require direct and active involvement from an author to yield maximum success. In addition to the basic features of traditional forms of advertising campaigns, a virtual book tour also offers a unique opportunity to include other promotional tools including book trailers, contest announcements and author interviews. These tools are available to any author, of course, but a book tour can make them easier to access and to promote.

What are the FABs of a virtual book tour? Thanks for asking!

• Features—You post interviews and participate in blogs at several high-trafficked websites over an extended period of time.
• Advantages—Exclusivity! You’re the only author being spotlighted on the site that day.
• Benefits—You have the ability to reach hundreds, if not thousands, of potential buyers within your target audience and to maximize your marketing budget.

Virtual book tours may not be of interest to every author and that’s okay. As a new author who also happens to be a wife, mother and working professional and one who’s trying to make a mark in an overly populated literary arena, I’ve found virtual book tours to be an excellent marketing tool that meets the demands of my oftentimes hectic schedule.

You might be wondering if I’ll ever do another virtual book tour. The answer is, yes. I have one scheduled for June 2008.

LaConnie Taylor-Jones’ latest novel, When A Man Loves A Woman, was released earlier this month. The book trailer for that novel can be viewed on her website. The book trailer for her previous novel, When I’m With You, can be viewed here.

www.laconnietaylorjones.com

Are you an author, editor or publisher who constantly checks the sales rankings of titles on Amazon? If so, you’ll probably get a kick out of Title Z.

TitleZ allows you to retrieve historic and current sales rankings for many of the books on Amazon, so you can see how a title has performed over time. You can search for titles by keyword, book title, author’s name or publisher. Once you have a list of titles, you can select the ones you want to compare side-by-side.

TitleZ is in beta, which means they’re still working on it, and it does seem to have a few bugs as well as hits and misses. I entered my latest novel, Can’t Get Enough, and learned that its lowest ranking ever on Amazon was 645. The highest ranking was . . . well, we won’t go there.

However, TitleZ had no historical rankings for P.G. County, the prequel to Can’t Get Enough, or for You Only Get Better, a recent fiction anthology I participated in with two other authors. Oddly, it did have historical rankings for my first and second novels, Sisters and Lovers and Big Girls Don’t Cry. But they were both published before Amazon came along, so the historical rankings can only go back to when Amazon began to keep track of rankings. Of course, if Amazon had been ranking books back when Sisters and Lovers and Big Girls Don’t Cry were first published, we all know both novels would have ranked at like number 1 or 2. Right? Right.

I can’t say how accurate the information on TitleZ is, however, when I compared rankings on TitleZ with what is listed on Amazon, TitleZ was right on the money.

At any rate, it’s fun to spend a bit of time checking out various titles even now, and the site could be helpful if you need to research the current success of titles in a genre on Amazon, such as chick lit or mysteries, or to compare titles side-by-side.

But I think if TitleZ is ever going to be really useful in the publishing industry, it’s going to have to be far more thorough in terms of the titles it supports. Right now, it appears that the developers may have even abandoned the site. Although the Amazon title ranking data appears to be up-to-date, the Book News section on TitleZ, which includes links to publishing industry articles around the web, hasn’t been updated since 2006.

Hopefully, the lag is temporary—like an attempt to raise funds to take it to the next level or something—because TitleZ has real potential as a tool for authors and publishers who are hooked on Amazon. And there are many of us.

TitleZ for authors and publishers

This week we focus on using the Internet as a tool to promote books.

Connie Briscoe Presents–

First, fiction author LaConnie Taylor-Jones will discuss the experiences she had on a virtual book tour–or blog tour–back in February of this year. LaConnie feels her virtual book tour was so successful that she’s doing another one in June for her upcoming book. LaConnie also highlights what she feels are the three biggest advantages of a virtual book tour.

Writing Tips

And I’ll provide more writing tips, specifically several resources for authors and aspiring authors that can be found on the Internet. And I’ll list some memorable and very relevant fiction writing tips attributed to a famous author.

Female gladiators? Always Interesting!

I haven’t read the book, but the trailer is stunningly good. Looks like it could be for a blockbuster film rather than a book. I couldn’t figure out who produced it, though. The book publisher appears to be in the United Kingdom. If anyone knows, do tell the rest of us.

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Want to see more? Featured book trailers.

Gotta love these ladies. Not only are Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant stellar storytellers, they’re good peeps–warm, funny, engaging.

Check out their video trailer, where they talk about how they met, got started and continue to thrive as one of the hottest writing duos in the business.

Check out the interview I conducted with them earlier this year here. They talk about how they met and how they pen their bestselling novels together as well as their latest novel.

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Want to see more? Featured book trailers.

Denene Millner is a columnist for Parenting magazine. She has worked as a senior editor at Honey and as an entertainment and political journalist for the New York Daily News. She is also the author of several books including the movie tie-in for the blockbuster film “Dreamgirls.” She lives in Atlanta with her husband and their two daughters.

Connie Briscoe: How did you end up writing Hotlanta with your co-author, Mitzi Miller?

Denene Millner: Mitzi and I got into the teen market by invitation. Alloy Media, the company behind the uber popular teen lit series The Gossip Girls, the A-List, The Clique, and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, among others, was looking for a writer to pen a teen series featuring African American characters, and their reps called our agent to see if Mitzi was interested. She was, but Alloy wanted the series to be set in Atlanta, and so they were anxious to have an Atlanta-based writer on the project as well. It just so happened that a month prior to the start of those conversations, my family and I had moved to a town just outside of Atlanta.

So it kind of worked out for everyone involved; Mitzi and I, who had collaborated on the humorous non-fiction book The Angry Black Woman’s Guide to Life, and the novel, The Vow (with Angela Burt-Murray), got another opportunity to team up again, and Alloy got their Atlanta-based author.

We eventually sold the proposal to Scholastic and ended up with a three-book series, entitled Hotlanta. It’s about the lives of Sydney and Lauren Duke, the popular and privileged daughters of a wealthy Buckhead, Atlanta, couple that has a dark, mysterious, dangerous history that the girls discover. And let the drama begin . . . .

CB: You’ve published in a variety of genres–fiction, nonfiction, the movie-tie in for “Dreamgirls” and now teen fiction. Why the teen market?

Denene Millner: Why the teen market? Why not? I’ve always been passionate about books; they were my best friends when I was coming of age and a welcome respite when I got grown. And when I started writing them, they became a viable way for me to help feed my family and save up for that Yale tuition.

I’m also the mother of two beautiful little brown girls, and before our first was even born, my husband, Nick Chiles, and I filled her room with as many African American children’s books as we could find because we thought it was important for her to see characters who look like her, to hear stories that reflect her experience.

And believe it or not, just about nine years ago, those stories were few and far between. While we’re doing a lot better with picture books featuring black characters, there has been a dearth of black teen fare. So I thought writing Hotlanta provided me with the perfect opportunity to put out stories that are universally appealing, but that reach an audience that has been grossly underserved.

CB: Doesn’t that require a big shift in gears mentally?

Denene Millner: It didn’t take that vast of a mental stretch to write Hotlanta. When we wrote the proposal and the first book, my then-16-year-old niece was living with Nick and I, and my 15-year-old stepson lives with us now, so I get to see the ways of teenagers up close and personal—sometimes a little too close!—and get their input as I’m writing so that the words, the voices, and the way they deal with the situations you find in the book ring true.

But really, writing for teens isn’t about lowering your level or standards or talking in any kind of different way. We write for them the same way we do adults—in a straightforward, clear way that’s smart and exciting and interesting.

The only real challenge we had was keeping up with was the pop culture obsession of it all; by the time we’d finish referencing something teens are into and move on to the next page, we’d find out that they’re just not into that one thing anymore. But I think we did a good job of keeping current without sacrificing a good, solid story.

CB: If you had to come up with a general theme for all or most of your novels (and books) what would it be?

Denene Millner: I’m extremely passionate about shining a light on the African American experience in a way that stretches beyond stereotypes, in a way that recognizes our layers and the nuanced lives we live. For too long, all anyone interested in the black experience had to go on were the stereotypes parading across the 11 o’clock news, and I think a lot of us 90s authors—you, Terry McMillan, Benilde Little, Bebe Moore Campbell-helped show the publishing world that there’s so much more to us.

This is the philosophy I carried as a journalist for The Associated Press and the New York Daily News; I carved a niche as one of the only black journalists writing about African Americans in the film, music, TV and book industries, as well as our lifestyles. It’s important to me because it reflects my world the way I was raised, the way I’m raising my children, my friends and family, our existence here on this earth.

Seldom are we heard, but we are here—these black folks who are solidly middle class, getting good educations, succeeding at work, living a good, thoughtful, authentically black life. My books always speak to this or validate it, really.

They also serve as a testament that black love, in all of its manifestations, is possible. I see it everyday in my marriage and the marriages of my friends, family, parents, and in-laws. And I show it to my children every single day, so that they’re clear of the possibilities, too. I really hope that is the takeaway for the work I’ve done.

CB: Do you do things outside of what the publisher does to promote your books? If so, what?

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If anyone can compete with Barack Obama for best public speaker it’s Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick, who has signed with Broadway Books to write his memoir.

Patrick, a supporter of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, became the first black governor of Massachusetts and the third black governor in the United States, when elected in November 2006. Prior to entering politics he worked in as an attorney and later in business.

More here.

Have you tried the new Borders bookstore website? It’s in beta (testing) now, but you can check out some of the sections.

You enter to what appears to be a bookshelf at a physical store and to the right you can click and look at various shelves (DVDs, books, music). This is sort of kin to selecting a general category at Amazon except you get a visual representation of the books listed, as if you were shopping at a physical store. Pretty cool, and I can imagine all sorts of ways this could be expanded in the future. Oprah is also front and center, with some exclusive video promoting her latest interest: Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth.

One of the most promising sections is Borders Media, where you can watch videos of authors discussing their books in various settings. For example—

Borders Book Club: authors discuss their books with small groups in a living-room-like setting. Currently viewable authors include Jodi Picoult, Lalita Tademy, Elizabeth Gilbert, Khaled Hosseini and others.

Borders Live at 01: one on one interviews with authors, recorded on location at Borders Store 01 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Currently up for viewing is Deepak Chopra discussing his newest book and other authors.

Borders Kitchen: where you can watch video of cookbook authors whipping up some of their recipes.

Borders Advice for Living: you can watch varied authors discussing their books, such as Robin Roberts, Donald Trump, and Bill Cosby and Alvin Poussaint. The theme for books featured here seems to be inspiration and motivation.

Many of the other sections—music, DVDs, kids—are not available yet but if they turn out to be as interactive as the media section, we could be in for a treat. Looks like Borders realizes that there’s something lacking in online shopping: other people. Not sure if this will ever replace getting out there and mingling, but Borders is obviously taking advantage of a lot of the newest bells and whistles available on the web to bring you a better online shopping experience.

They’re also trying to give Amazon some real competition. As much as I love Amazon, healthy competition is always a good thing.

Borders Beta

For more about innovation at Borders, see Borders Bookstore: Dinosaur Goes Digital

Photo credit: Pflorendo/iStockphoto

Annette Fix, former exotic dancer and now author, has penned her memoir, The Break-Up Diet, in which she talks about how she survived being dumped by her live-in boyfriend, when she thought she was going to live with him “happily- ever-after.” The Break-Up Diet is self-published, and Annette has devised some really creative ways to promote herself and her book, which she shares generously here.

Connie Briscoe: You seem to wear many caps: fiction and nonfiction author, spoken-word performer, publicist, senior editor for a popular website on writing, and last but certainly not least, a mom. How do you find the time and energy to do so much?

Annette Fix: I love everything about what I do. I think that makes a huge difference in my attitude when I wake up and start each new day. I just wish there were more hours in a day to do it all! I’m fortunate that my son is older now and very close to testing his wings. It was harder to juggle everything when I was working, home-schooling, and trying to carve out time to write. Although I seem to keep adding more on my to-do list!

CB: I understand that. There’s an interesting story behind your memoir The Break-Up Diet. Tell us what it is about and why you decided to write it.

Annette Fix: I was initially working on a feature film screenplay with a producer who had a picture deal with Disney. Then my live-in boyfriend dumped me off the back of the happily-ever-after horse. It turned me into a complete wreck, and I started journaling about the break-up. One of my girlfriends suggested I write it as a book. I backed out of the film project and began writing The Break-Up Diet. It started as therapy and I had no idea if it would end up being a 900-page diatribe of horrible relationship experiences, but it turned out to be my own real-life fairytale.

CB: You indicate that you found an agent but still struggled with landing a publisher. Why do you think that was?

Annette Fix: My agent was shopping my memoir as fiction because my voice and the content of the story are very “chick-litty.” The biggest problem was that the chick-lit market was saturated, and the editors didn’t feel my story was strong enough to compete. But I believe the actual strength of the story is that the happily-ever-after ending is true, and my message is that it really can happen.

CB: So you decided to publish The Break-Up Diet yourself and spent a year learning the ropes. Tell us a bit about that time.

Annette Fix: When I first considered self-publishing, I looked into a few of the major subsidy publishers such as Author House and iUniverse. But I ultimately decided their business model wasn’t right for me. So I established my own indie (independent) press and went step-by-step through the production process. It was a crash-course, and I made a lot of financial missteps along the way but I’m very happy with the final product. I think the best part of the process was being in the position to call my own shots about how the cover and interior would look, how it would be marketed, and so on.

CB: You’ve also been very creative as far as promoting the book with forums, blogs and other ideas. Tell us more about some of the things you’ve done to promote the book.

Annette Fix: I’ve tried to think of every possible way to incorporate marketing ideas I’ve read about. I wanted to find ways to create fun things on my site to connect with readers, some things that would also help promote the book.

I’m not quite finished implementing everything I have planned, but so far, on the book website for The Break-Up Diet, I’ve posted excerpts of the book, an audio clip of me reading from the book, a video welcome—which will soon be replaced by a hilarious book trailer—a blog—which I really should keep up more than I do—a MySpace page, and reading questions for book groups. I also created a forum called My Break-Up Story, where women can read and share—and have the last word telling their break-up and dating stories. I think that will really be a blast when more women find out about it.

I plan to create a fun, Cosmo-like “How do you know if you’re on the break-up diet?” quiz. And I’m currently working on a free down-loadable companion e-book that has tips and distractions to help women get over a tough break-up. I’ll be encouraging readers to pass it along to their friends who need it.

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