Vol 1 | October | 2012
Welcome to Black Lion! Reaching Your Audience
Meet Genevieve Graham
“Let no feeling of discouragement prey upon you, and in the end you are sure to succeed.” -Abraham Lincoln
For authors, we “screen” our tour hosts to ensure you're getting tour stops worth your time. For hosts, we “screen” our authors to ensure you're getting quality books for
Success doesn't come easy but
Meet the authors touring in October.
your blogs.
that doesn't mean it can't be Contact
fun.
us
today
for
more
information or visit our website at Author and Tour Hosts
We know that as well as anyone
http://www.blackliontours.com.
because we've been there. It's more difficult than ever to promote Current special offers and discounts!
books,
but
that
doesn't
mean
authors have to do it on their own. We're here to help by offering authors a way to market their work and have a good time in the process. Virtual book tours are your doors into computers, homes, cities, and countries you may not otherwise be able to reach. Your book tour isn't over at the end of a day—it remains live as does your audience potential and reach.
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Reaching Your Audience Ask any author and they’ll likely tell you that one of the most
difficult
things
about
writing, after the writing itself, is
reaching
an
audience.
Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead. ~Gene Fowler
Whether traditionally published
more
focus
marketing,
on so
writing that
than you’re
spending 60% of your time writing and 40% marketing. By your tenth book, your audience has hopefully built up, but the
or self-published, reaching, and building, an
work doesn’t end. Authors who have 200+ books
audience is hard work. So how does an author
to their name still require marketing? So when
find the balance between writing and marketing?
does it end?
How do you reach an audience without spending a small fortune or stressing because you no longer have time to write?
If you’re one of the rare lucky authors who can
The first question to ask yourself is what’s more important to you? The writing or the marketing? It
goes
without
saying
It doesn’t!
that
marketing
is
necessary, but you have to have something to market.
hire a publicist or assistant, then your time can shift 95% to writing, but that’s not a common reality for most authors. The best advice? Stick with what works best. Find 2-3 social outlets or methods by which to market,
Hopefully your answer is writing first, marketing
stick with those, and spend the rest of your valuable writing time, writing books!
second. With the first book, an author has to put a lot more time into marketing. Readers don’t know who you are and if your goal is to write for the next five, ten, or twenty years, then you need to work on building that initial audience. Even with the help of a big publisher, the author still has to put in the leg-work. What about the second book, or third, or tenth? Is the same amount of marketing required? By your third book, chances are you’ve slowly built up your initial audience, and you could put
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Black Lion Featured Author October 2012 Meet Genevieve Graham Until about five years ago, I never even imagined being a writer. Back then I was a reader, and a ravenous one at that. I consumed everything I could read, but I developed a particular hunger for Historical Adventure, especially like the books of Diana Gabaldon, Sara Donati, Penelope Williamson, and Jennifer Roberson. In fact, it was after I'd read Ms
A book written with both intelligence and passion will be great. It's easy to write a book—well, not easy, but easier—with one or the other. A smart book can be wonderful to read, as can a passionate one. But when the two are melded together into a rich, deep adventure, how can you lose?
Gabaldon's entire series for the fourth time (and those are long books!) and listened to the unabridged audio twice more that I decided I had to try writing my own stories. When I finished reading those books I felt almost … lonely without her characters and bored without the adventures. I needed more, and I couldn't seem to find anything else that grabbed me like those stories had. So I sat down and started to write. And the words … refused to go away! At first it was a guilty pleasure of mine, writing. When I probably should have been working or cleaning or cooking or something, I secreted away by my computer and wrote thousands of words at a sitting. I shouldn't have felt that way, I now realize. My family—especially my incredible husband—has been amazingly supportive of me and my obsession. Writing has become a sort of escape for me. A kind of therapy I never knew I needed before. I can't imagine life without writing now.
If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster. ~Isaac Asimov
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The act of putting pen to paper encourages pause for thought, this in turn makes us think more deeply about life, which helps us regain our equilibrium. ~Norbet Platt
Remaining sane as a writer? That's nice to know we're considered sane at one point! Nah, just joshing.
I would miss writing terribly, and yes, it would
I get some funny looks when I share the fact that I
change my life drastically. When I'm not writing I run
believe many writers are "mediums" in a sense,
my own editing business, so I assume you're saying I
channelling their stories, but I do believe that's true
can't do that, either. I really don't know what I'd do. I
in many cases—including mine. But I think the
know I'd spend more time reading, but I'd probably
number one thing a writer has to remember is to
get more involved in charity work. I hate to think of
write for themselves. Don't worry about publishing,
not writing!
don't worry about what people will say, and definitely don't think about making money in this business! Keep your mind and your heart in your story, and write for you. That's what it's all about.
Bad reviews are obviously tough to take, but if they're constructive, they can be really useful. The ones I can't stand are the really low ratings that don't give a reason. I react by not reacting. Sure, I'll be hurting inside, but I'll never strike back, and I'll never chase down a reviewer for an explanation. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, obviously. A writer opens herself up to the public, reveals the inner workings of her soul even, and has to be tough enough to take the occasional nasty review.
www.genevievegraham.com
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On Tour in October!
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Author Directory Caroline Mickelson (Cozy Mystery) http://www.carolinemickelson.com Cynthia Woolf (Historical Romance) http://carolineclemmons.blogspot.com Genevieve Graham (Historical Romance) http://www.genevievegraham.com Kimberly Lewis (Western Romance) http://kimberlylewisnovels.blogspot.com Krista Kedrick (Contemporary Romance) http://www.kristakedrick.com Marsha Megan Stokes (Paranormal Romance) http://theordersaga.blogspot.com MK McClintock (Historical Western Romance, Historical Romance) http://www.mkmcclintock.com Nicholas A. White (YA-General Fiction) http://www.nicholasawhite.com Rionna Morgan (Romantic Suspense) http://www.rionnamorgan.com Pam B. Morris (Futuristic Paranormal Romance) http://pambmorris.blogspot.com/
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Tour Host Directory A Bookish Libraria~The Bookish Dame Reviews A Dream Within A Dream A Novel Idea LIVE A Writer's Life Alexa Loves Books Black Lion Tours Blog Book Nook Books in the Burbs Books, Books, The Magical Fruit BookSpark Bookworm Lisa Cait Lavender, Cowgirl Writer Chanting of Muses Cheryl's Book Nook Fire and Ice Full Moon Bites I Am A Reader, Not A Writer Imaginary Reads Journey with Books Kimberly Lewis Novels Libby's Library Library of Clean Reads Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf MK McClintock Blog My Devotional Thoughts My Little Pocketbooks Nothing Better Than a Book Promiscuous Diva Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer Reviews By Molly Romance Meets Life Sammy the Bookworm The Book Hoard The Bunny's Review Tina’s Book Reviews Turning The Pages W³ Sidecar We Fancy Books whoopeeyoo :D
http://abookishlibraria.blogspot.com http://adreamwithindream.blogspot.com http://anovelidealive.com http://carolineclemmons.blogspot.com http://www.alexalovesbooks.com http://blackliontours.blogspot.com http://booknook.me http://www.booksintheburbs.com http://booksbooksthemagicalfruit.blogspot.com http://book-spark.blogspot.com/ http://lisaisabookworm.blogspot.com http://www.caitlavender.com http://chantingofmuses.blogspot.com http://www.cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com http://fireandicephoto.blogspot.com http://fullmoonbites.blogspot.com/ http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com http://imaginaryreads.blogspot.com http://journeywithbooks.blogspot.com http://kimberlylewisnovels.blogspot.com http://www.libbyslibrary.com http://libraryofcleanreads.blogspot.com http://melissaseclecticbookshelf.blogspot.com/ Htp://mkmcclintock.blogspot.com http://mydevotionalthoughts.com http:/littlepocketbooks.blogspot.com http://nothingbetterthanabook.blogspot.com/ http://promiscuousdiva.blogspot.com http://www.coffeeaddictedwriter.com http://reviewsbymolly.com http://www.mynewhitmanwrites.com http://www.sammythebookworm.com http://www.thebookhoard.com http://bunnysreview.com http://www.tinasbookreviews.com/ http://turningthepagesx.blogspot.com http://w3sidecar.tumblr.com http://wefancybooks.blogspot.com http://whoopeeyoo.com
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Special Offers! October 2012 Cub Tour Special! 5 tour stops Promotional banners 3D Book Cover Press Release Options of: -Book reviews -Interviews -Guest Posts -Author/Book Spotlights The regular cost for the Hunter Tour Package is only $45. During the month of October, authors who sign up for the cub tour, will pay only $30. Tour may be used anytime within six months. Enter code ‘CUB30’ in the comment section when signing up.
Sign up for the Cub Tour!
Media Kit and 3-D Book Cover Special! During the month of October only, we’re offering a basic media kit and a 3-D book cover for $10. Enter ‘3D10’ in the comment section when emailing us.
Email us about this special offer!
Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a second. ~William James
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