COVID-19
has shut down a lot of things, but our imaginations needn't be one of
them. In fact, recent personal events show that they may be more
active than ever.
Before
this virus hit, a group of writers met at my house every Wednesday
evening to work on writing projects and offer feedback. For several
in the group, those Wednesday nights provided a writing lifeline. I
hated having to send out the group text announcing the cancellation
of our group until further notice. Even though we're not a huge group
(on the rare occasion that everyone is present on the same evening,
we total seven), with my 93 year old mother in the house, I couldn't
take any chances.
Of
course, everyone understood. Several had made the painful decision to
stay away even before receiving my text. Being a resilient,
resourceful, and most of all, imaginative group it took
less than an hour for one member to come up with the idea of a
writing round robin. One person would write one page of a story,
email it to the next person who would add another page then forward
it to the next and so on. After two rounds the story would be
complete. It might not add up to something publishable, but it
promised to be fun and keep those writing muscles toned. I had to bow
out as all my writing time is, of necessity, being devoted to the
completion of Erin's Children, the sequel to Kelegeen,
though I do look forward to reading the finished product.
My
non-involvement in the round robin did not mean complete detachment
for me, however. In less than a week, I jumped onto a Zoom meeting
with fellow writing group member, Jane Willan. Jane is the author of
two cozy mysteries, The Shadow of Death and The Hour of
Death, the first two books in her Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn
Mystery Series. She's currently working on the third in the series as well as a
thriller.
Jane
and I are searching for both "tried and true" and "unique and new" methods of marketing our writing, so we decided to focus our Zoom
session on brainstorming ideas. (For anyone unfamiliar with Zoom, it
is similar to Skype). We started by naming what we're already doing:
Twitter and Facebook posts, website, newsletter, blogging, in-person
talks and book signings, partaking in giveaways, interviews with
bloggers and local papers. Currently, I'm working with an organizer
on setting up a blog tour.
Then
we started thinking about what we could do that we haven't done yet.
Podcasts were the first thing to come to mind. It turns out that if
you google podcasts along with your genre, you'll find a plethora
from which to choose. We both committed to being interviewed on
podcasts.
But
why stop there? Jane's husband has a vast supply of audio/visual
equipment. Why not start our own podcast? Fellow BWL author, Eileen Charbonneau, and I have been discussing creating a podcast. So the three of us connected on Zoom for our first podcast planning meeting. Fortunately, through the wonders of technology it doesn't matter that Jane and I live in Massachusetts and Eileen Charbonneau lives in Vermont. We don't have to be in the same state or even in the same house to make it happen.
YouTube was another marketing option open for discussion. I have a YouTube channel, though so far I've
only put up one clip of me reading an excerpt from Kelegeen. Jane and I decided we could make some more YouTube clips. They don't
all have to be book excerpts. The writing life offers plenty of
topics for discussion. With my sequel being set in Worcester, a
video tour showing the sections of the city where much of the story
takes place seems another likely possibility. Jane also has some trailers for her two mysteries. Eileen and I would like to follow her lead and make some for our book(s).
Our
brainstorming session didn't end there. We talked about the 19th
century coterie of writers that formed the literati in Concord,
Massachusetts – Emerson, Thoreau, Alcott, Hawthorne - to name a few.
Then we widened the circle of our thoughts to include 19th
century authors throughout New England. Such an abundance! Our region
still boasts literary luminaries today. Some, like Steven King, are
household names.
We
got to thinking about the other authors in our area that we both know
personally. Published, yes. Famous, no. This led to a discussion
about what it is, besides the obvious (great writing), that
makes some authors successful and others whose writing may be just as
good or even better, virtually unknown beyond their small circle.
The
answer – marketing! We have to do it ourselves and for most of us
it is not our field of expertise. Not even close. If it was we'd be
marketers, not authors. Yet in today's world we have no choice. We
have to climb that steep learning curve to figure out how to let the
world know we're here and we've written awesome books that deserve to
be widely read.
But
how? This is a question I've been struggling with since the
publication of Kelegeen. I sunk a lot of money into an
advertising company that has been helping me climb that learning
curve for almost two years. “Learn to think like a CEO.” “You
are not only an author. You are the CEO of Eileen O'Finlan.” These
are mantras they've driven into my brain. They are also concepts
completely alien to the way I think. A huge learning curve, indeed.
But I am not alone and that gives me great hope. Eileen Charbonneau remains an amazing mentor for me. Our joint in-person appearances may be on hold for a while, but we are excited about embarking on a new virtual adventure through podcasting.
Jane and I have committed to working together, mastering the art of branding, learing the ins and outs of marketing, pulling each other up and over that daunting curve so that we can come out on the other side, if not as household names, at least
with successful authorial careers. We fully realize it will be a
marathon, not a sprint, but we are willing to give it all we've got.
If it doesn't happen (but it will – think positive!) it won't be
for lack of trying.
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| Eileen O'Finlan |
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| Jane Willan |
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| Eileen Charbonneau |
