Slipping into oblivion: How important is visibility?

We're going to leave the ghosts, asylums, and other paranormal entities behind for a bit.  I wanted to talk about something of dire importance to anyone who depends on 'visibility' to survive in this cyber world we live in.  We all know that money, for most of us, is tight and our only venue promo and advertisement is the internet.  So how to keep a consistent presence across the net is a big challenge.  I have inadvertantly tested this and found that slipping into the oblivion is so very easy to do and unfortunately, you sink fast! 

Over the last several months, I've noticed even my most dependable followers have moved on.  It is not a good feeling being alone and unheard, especially for a writer.  My views and comments on this blog have dropped drastically and are non-existent on my website. So what is the problem?

• Updates.  This is something that is a necessessity, and I do religiously keep up with. Fresh conversation and topics draw your readers and show them you are out there. So, I know I'm okay in this department.
• Topic/Content.  Maybe my topics are uninteresting to others?  Could be an issue but I wouldn't know that unless someone said "Hey, you're boring the bejeebers out of us, already!"
• Visibility. Bingo! This one is a biggie.  I have been so tied up with other responsibilities that my overall visibility had dropped excessively.  What does that mean?  Well, for instance, I have not spent the time needed to visit other blogs, give interviews, hold contests, author spotlights have slimmed out, and hold the occasional give-away to drawn interest.  I have attempted to visit my favorite blogs in the last couple of weeks and comment but I suppose because I cannot do this as a daily routine my visitations may be lost in the mire.  I am only able to follow through on this on a weekly basis.
• Loops and Blogs. Another major problem for me is finding the time needed to remain visible on the loops and blogs I belong to.  Whew! this is a major challenge for me. I have attempted to incorporate one morning a week to do this.  But again, it seems futile as I don't really see any gain from this.  Not complaining.  Will keep plugging and keep working at it. Solutions are hard won especially with life biting at your heels.  Everyone has one and all the demands that come with it, so I'm not alone. Were there an easy solution, it would be a perfect world, would it not?
• New Material/Releases. Another huge obstacle.  I have been pulled from my personal works for sometime now.  I haven't been able to write except in limited spurts of time, nor am I the type of writer that can force the muse, so much of those times may produce nothing, nada, blank pages... I will say that I have no less than five/six projects in different stages!  I just need to sit down and get them going. More likely--get them finished!  New releases regularly are the key.  Each new project, its promo, etc. bring potential new readers and bring back your faithful followers.  Without fresh material flooding the saturated market, you are guaranteed a nosedive into oblivion.  Trust me, I know...

Well, that said, I am going to pull out one of those projects I mentioned and get to work. As Nike says: Just do it!

D~

August already~ hot, humid August and all that comes with it. Back to school, increased electric bills, 'cause we need to utilize more AC, an increased chance of hurricane threat, though the eastern Atlantic seems quiet at the moment *whispers the latter* Don't want to jinx the weather patterns:)

Kudos to Cari Quinn. Excellent blog the other day. While I await her critique of my blog and website design, which I've done probably 75 per cent of the things she explicitly said not to do, I thought we'd talk briefly about a subject that is just as important as the design of your cyber representation and that is UPDATING.

How many of you update your blogs daily or at least every couple of days? How many update your websites at least once a month or so?

I personally update my blog usually every couple of days or so. I noticed something I hadn't realized while surfing friends' blogs who list my link. And this is a valuable little tidbit of information at least in my opinion. I didn't see my link listed, so I scrolled down and, low and behold, found it down at the bottom of the list! Why? Well upon further investigation, I realized that the way a blog is listed on the favorites list goes by when said blog was last updated. The number one spot was updated maybe an hour ago, number two, a couple of hours and so on. My blog was updated a mere two days ago but all the others were more recent which tossed me to the bottom of the list! I found that interesting. And I must tell you, gives me even more incentive to keep on top of my site updates.

So that's just what I did today:)

How about you?

D~

To Brand or not to Brand

Please welcome Cari Quinn, graphic artist. Hi, Cari!

Hello, Dayana. Thank you for having me today, Dayana!

While my first love is writing, my day job is as a graphic designer and proofreader at a community newspaper. Having worked in graphic design for almost a decade, I'm used to seeing what works - and what doesn't - on the page. Clarity and brevity are essential, and most importantly, a design piece is only as good as it reproduces.

But this doesn't apply to writers, right? Not so. Your brand is a visual interpretation of you and your product.

What color scheme have you chosen for your webpage and/or blog? Is it mirrored in your bookmarks, business cards and any other promotional materials? Perhaps not, but if you carry through your theme, the more recognizable your name becomes. Preferably, this theme works with your tagline and with your product. Maybe you write all over the map (as I do) or maybe you have two main genres in which you write. In those cases, generic is best, but perhaps there are design elements you can pick up that apply to both and would work well on your webpage and bookmarks, for example. An easy one...do you write paranormal romance featuring werewolves and vampires? A three-quarter moon in the night sky might be the perfect element to evoke the reaction you're hoping to create in your reader. In my opinion, simpler is best. You're trying to create a feeling, not bombard the senses. Just as a lipstick imprint on an envelope is sexy and romantic, it's also clean and basic. That's what you're looking for. That snap of instant recognition that, if you're lucky, will become something your readers instantly associate with you.

That's also where your tagline comes in. Do you have one? A tagline encapsulates your work in one or two sentences and lets your reader know what to expect when they pick up your story. When I started writing a few years ago, my tagline was "Because love - and sex - can be funny." I chose this because everything I write seems to have a thread of humor running through it. As I went along, I realized that tagline didn't work for me anymore, because I was branching out. Yes, my stories still usually have a humorous element (or so I hope!) but I'm also writing darker pieces now, such as Urban Fantasy. So I went back to the drawing board and came up with "What's more dangerous than falling in love?" I'm a romance writer, and by putting that word "dangerous" in my tagline, hopefully the reader gets the impression that there may be darker aspects to my writing. Even when I write straight contemporary, that tagline works.

Being succinct is key. Think what you would want someone to say about your work, and see if you can tie that into your tagline. If you're really creative (and we all are, or we wouldn't be writers), look for ways to tie your tagline into the branding of your website and promotional materials. You write paranormal and cozy mysteries? Have that slice of moon on the top of your webpage? Maybe add a gleaming silver knife with one drop of blood to represent the mysterious side of your writing persona. And perhaps your tagline is, "Sexy romance filled with things that go bump in the night." Okay, not great, but it's just an example for you to use as a springboard for your own ideas.

I also think having a logo is important. YOU are your own company. And the more places that people see your specific logo and tagline, always represented in the same way, the more often that becomes imprinted on a reader's mind. Recognition is your best friend as an author. If Sally Jane is sitting home looking for a spicy book to download and she remembers seeing your splashy, unique logo on a blog somewhere, you may just be the one whose books she searches out to read. In this time of self-promotion, it's vital you give yourself every opportunity to succeed. In case any of you stop by my blog, I don't have a new logo up yet. ;) But I will soon!

One last word about branding and creating a mood with your promotional materials. As I mentioned earlier, a design is only as good as it reproduces, which is why blogs that are dark in color with red or white type rarely work well. Anything that is hard to read gives your potential reader a reason to bypass your page - something you do not want. True, there are sites like Readability, http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability/ which can translate most blogs/webpages into something easy on the eyes, but most people don't want to go through that extra step. Keep your design elements to the tops and sides of your pages and leave the areas where you type as clean as possible. And be brief, as brief as you can while still getting your message across. I love to read, but when I see a blog that's a page long or more, I cruise on by. At best, I hit the highlights. Which brings me to another point. Try to break long passages into sections, with bullets that make it easy to skim. Anything that encourages your reader to stay a while is a very good thing!

Thank you for reading! I'll be around to answer any questions or comments. I'm considering doing a series of posts on this subject on my own blog, so please stay tuned!

Cari Quinn
www.cariquinn.blogspot.com
Wow! Great information isn't it? Thanks for sharing all this, Cari. Please stop by again any time you like. I really enjoyed this.

Also, for those of you who haven't checked out my blog post yesterday, I talk about additional exposure ideas and thoughts. Thanks for dropping by today.

More thoughts on gaining exposure on the internet.

Well it seems July has about flown the coop. Time certainly does fly, doesn't it. I noticed that, other than the guest spots, visits/comments have slowed noticably this month. I am one for keeping my website and blog current and fresh, so it's a little disappointing when you don't see much traffic. I'd like to discuss how to get more traffic to our respective internet venues.

Catherine Bybee spends hours and hours on this very subject. And I for one am heeding her words. I have joined Coffee Time, Facebook, My Space, Twitter, keep blog and website freshly updated, as I mentioned above, and try to get to other blogs and loops to leave comments. That is a challenge in itself I have found as there are only so many hours in a day. But interacting is so very important, so I will continue to work on getting around the internet to other blogs and loops in hopes that those people will do the same.

I will also experiment with Catherine's suggestion to read and review other author's books. I have done reveiws, albeit, under another pseudonym and on a more professional level. Though being in the position that I'd like to see reveiws written by my readers, I definitely can return the favor. Nothing like a peer kudo on your book cover!

I was recently approached via email by a marketing company whose name I will not disclose who claims to be able to get my name and books out to more than 5,000,000 readers within my writing parameters. Hmmm... I thought. What's the ticket on that? So, I sent an email inquiring they send me more information as I send no personal information over the net such as phone number, address, etc. EVER! They did respond and the lowest circulation which I think was something like 500K was almost $600 and $800 for circulation to one million then up to $2100! Hellooo I'm still considered a starving artist at this point in my career! That ain't happening:)

Anyway, just some thoughts to toss out there.

Cari Quinn will be dropping in tomorrow to discuss more on getting our names circulating out in cyberspace. She will be discussing branding, website etiquette and graphic art. Please come by and check her out.

Talk soon. Any suggestions and ideas you have are more than welcome on the art of making internet noise:)

D~

Whoa! Still Snoopy Dancing...

Bestial Cravings is still at #1 across the board at The Wild Rose Press. This is amazing and such a high:) I do know that it won't last forever and I see my dear friend Helen Hardt has a new release this week so...


CONGRATULATIONS!!! ON YOUR NEW RELEASE, HELEN:)

It is actually a collection of hot western's called Lawmen and Outlaws. I know I can't wait to delve into that one.

Also, as you can see, I've finally gotten my internet back up. Wow! It is really quite frustrating not knowing what is going on in cyberworld:)

Finally, I wanted to mention, I was making my blog rounds this morning and discovered that Callie Lynn Wolfe, Senior Editor of the Black Rose line at TWRP is hosting Pink Fuzzy Slipper Writers today on their blog. She has posted some interesting pointers on what she looks for in submissions. Check her out.

Well, I'm off to do some weed pulling in the front gardens today. Is it me or do they really get out of control fast, nasty little weed critters.

Talk to all soon,

D~

It's October! Let the tricks and treats begin!

Well, the festivities are in full swing at The Wild Rose Press and here at my Halloween Blog Party. Get those Halloween Mini's in and enjoy the fun this month.

Don't forget to get in touch with me if you'd like to do a guest blog spot this month. We're going to have lots of special guests this month, both authors and editors. I am so excited about this!

Also, I will have a drawing at the end of the month for a special treat and all you have to do to qualify is comment on this blog!

C'mon, let's get this party started!

Happy Hauntings!

D~

Wow! What a week!

I have had the most productive week that I have experienced in my entire career as a writer! I am both excited and awed and I must say, even abit humbled.

Allow me to backtrack a moment...

When I released my first book, Dancing on the Edge, writing as S. L. Connors, I truly had no clue what to do, how to do it, or even where to do it. I took baby step after baby step into the unfamiliar waters of everything from submitting the manuscript, editing, publishing, and marketing the finished product. Yes, and like a toddler struggling with its first steps, I took many stumbles and falls along the way. The entire process was slow, grueling work, and I must admit frustrating. My most frequent mantra was, "I'd much rather be writing! Why can't I just write!"

Well, it seems that all that hard work and lurching about has finally paid off. Maybe not so much for my first novel, but it seems I am doing a better job at falling into the proper venues of introducing my new book, Curse of the Marhime, and my name, Dayana Knight, into the proverbial limelight.

I've done all the logical things such as: create a website, blog, book trailer, business cards, send announcements out on all the loops I can. And delved into the world of contests. Market, market, market!

Now back to the good fortune the Craft Goddess has smiled down upon me this week.

First, I received an invitation to be a sponsoring author for LASR's (The Long and Short Review) First Anniversary celebration which I graciously accepted.

Then I was invited to be interviewed by peer author and friend, Allie Boniface(http://allieboniface.blogspot.com/), on her blog this coming Wednesday, July 23rd. Please, by all means, tune in.

Next, I had emailed my announcement of Curse of the Marhime's sale to The Wild Rose Press in hopes of getting a mention in the RWA's "First Sales" column in the RWA Report Magazine as well on the RWA official site and was advised my mention is slated for the October issue! This is perfect timing because my ebook release date is Spetember 5th and the print is slated for December, 2008.

On Friday evening I returned home from work and, as is my habit, fired up my laptop to check my email. Well, I came across an email from LASR announcing 'free advertising' so, of course, I opened it. LASR offered three months free ad space on their website for the first ten respondents so, you guessed it, I hurried and shot a response back. I won! I never win anything, but I was number eight and won!

Okay, now I'm doing Snoopy happy dances because I just can't contain my good fortune any longer and emailing anyone I possibly can to share my glee.

This morning I received yet another offer for marketing from another peer author and friend, Donna Sundblad, asking if I'd be interested in being interviewed on BlogRadio.

Can I just say, I can't believe the opportunities that have suddenly dropped into my lap. This is incredibly exhilarating, and it just proves that persistance does, in fact, reap it's just rewards.