Choosing the Right Head Shot

Call me cheap, but I don’t want to pay for having an expensive head shot produced for my use in publicity materials. First, I am not Dean Koontz, with thousands of fans and followers. I am not Tom Clancy or Nora Roberts, a best-selling author. I am simply Fay Moore, a country girl with a big dream–to write murder mysteries that people will buy and enjoy reading.

In that vein, I picked a photograph that I think would make a good head shot when needed.

I think it looks kind of “writer-ly.” People will look at it and think, she’s friendly, approachable.

Maybe between a friendly face and an attractive cover, I can sell a book or two. What do you think?

Music To My Ears (Eyes)

A writer begs to be read and appreciated for his craft, his art. Today I was lifted from a groveling place on the ground to Cloud Nine by author Shelton Keys Dunning.

A while ago, Troy P invited me to write the ending to a short story called “The Reunion.” Three writers preceded me in contributing to the story line. The author that started the tale was Shelton Keys Dunning.

To make a long story short, in the comments on my post “Writing Changes,” Dunning wrote words that made me giddy. I have to share them here:

I saw your potential in storycrafting when you finished my The Reunion on such a perfect endnote. I’ve been a fan ever since. I’m truly looking forward to purchasing everything you do!

If you are a writer, you know the weightiness and import of those words to my soul. It means every agonizing hour spent trying to get it right is worth it.

Shelton Keys Dunning, I pray I never let you down. And know this, if I screw up once (or twice), I will drive myself to fix it the next time around. For you! For readers like you who make the writer’s agony all worth while.

I love you. Thank you for lifting me up!

And, Troy, thank you for inviting me to write in a different venue, allowing me to reach out to a broader readership than this blog affords me. I love you, too.

I look forward to the day I can pay it forward and help out another writer. Helping each other to grow and expand is what it is all about.

Marketing My Novel, Step 1

While I am going through the editing and re-write process, which is far lengthier than I anticipated, I have developed a marketing plan for my novel. Remember, as a self-published author, I wear two hats: writer and businesswoman.

My marketing plan–which is a work in progress–is designed to give readers a taste of my writing style before the release of my novel. How so?

I authored an 8000+ word suspenseful short story named “Strange” which I am releasing soon on Amazon.com. The cover art has been commissioned.  When released, the story will sell for 99 cents.

Hopefully, readers will sample my story and decide that  they would like to read Moore (pun fully intended) writing from me. The next step is to release the novel–shortly after releasing the short story–before those who enjoyed “Strange” forget about me.

I may have made a mistake in this by-the-seat-of-my-pants marketing plan. I want to share my mistakes with you, so you can learn from them and avoid them in your own marketing.

My short story “Strange” involves death, but not murder. It is suspenseful, but in a different way than my murder mystery novel.  The characters in the short story are nothing like the characters in the novel.

In hindsight, I think I should have written a murder mystery short story using a main character from my murder mystery novel. That would not only introduce the reader to my writing style in the up-coming novel, but would have hooked them into getting to know one of the characters.

Hmmm. If I am a smart cookie, I will do that anyway. I will write another short story to introduce a main character from the novel–maybe two short stories, each focusing on a different character–and e-publish them to whet the taste of readers for the novel.  That way, if a reader likes the short story and the character, the reader can buy the novel.

I like that plan. Now, where am I going to get the time to do it? That’s a post for another day.

 

The Newspaper Interview Is in Print

RE-RUN OF MARCH POST

JUST WANT TO REMIND YOU, YOU CAN BUY THE ANTHOLOGY USING THE LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST.

OUR 30-YEAR-OLD MEMBER MISSED THE PHOTO OP. SHE IS VERA SINES-KLANK.

http://www.herald-mail.com/lifestyle/hm-the-writers-of-the-desert-rose-cafe-discuss-themselves-and-their-first-anthology-20130228,0,7573201.story?page=1

Wow! In my little writer’s hideaway, I got a phone call to tell me the newspaper interview was published March 3. Not only was it printed in the local newspaper, but it is available on-line, too. The link is above. I don’t know how long they keep on-line articles floating in web-space, so look now.

(The photo was taken by staff photographer Joe Crocetal of The Herald-Mail newspaper in Maryland. The dark-haired one on the top left of the overhead shot is me.)

We received 5 pages of publicity in the on-line article. How lovely!

In case you are hearing about this for the first time, let me give you background. I am a member of Writers of the Desert Rose Cafe. We published an anthology in late December 2012. The book is available on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble (on-line only) at a very affordable price. If you have an interest in a sneak preview, click the Amazon link below. The Barnes and Noble link is also available for you with Nook readers.

http://www.amazon.com/Writers-Desert-Cafe-An-Anthology-ebook/dp/B00ARYTOYC

or

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/writers-of-the-desert-rose-cafe-an-anthology-fay-moore/1114018983