Holidays for Writers (And Book Lovers)

Mark your calendars. There’s always something to celebrate!

January 1 - Copyright Law Day

January 3 - National Write to Congress Day

January 12 - Poetry at Word Day

January 18 - National Thesaurus Day, Winnie the Pooh Day

January 27 - Library Shelfie Day

February 3 - World Read Aloud Day

February 7 - Send a Card to a Friend Day

February 9 - Read in the Bathtub Day

February 14 - International Book Giving Day, Library Lovers’ Day

February 26 - Tell a Fairytale Day

March 2 - National Read Across America Day (Dr. Seuss’ Birthday)

March 4 - National Grammar Day

March 8 - National Proofreading Day

March 14 - National Write Your Story Day

March 16 - Freedom of Information Day

March 20 - World Storyteller’s Day

March 21 - World Poetry Day

March 25 - National Tolkien Reading Day

March 30 - Pencil Day

April 2 - International Children’s Book Day

April 4 - School Librarian Day

April 6 - National Library Workers’ Day

April 7 - Nation Bookmobile Day

April 10 - Encourage a Young Writer Day

April 15 - Celebrate Teen Literature Day

April 16 - National Library Day

April 23 - World Book Day

May 2 - Harry Potter Day

May 6 - Free Comic Book Day

May 12 - National Limerick Day

May 22 - Sherlock Holmes’ Day

June 10 - National Ballpoint Pen Day

July 30- Paperback Book Day

August 9 - Book Lovers’ Day

August 21 - Poets’ Day

August 29 - Bookstore Romance Day

September 6 - Read a Book Day

September 8 - International Literacy Day

September 15 - Mystery Book Day (Agatha Christie’s Birthday)

September 24 - National Punctuation Day

September 29 - National Coffee Day

October 7 - National Poetry Day

October 16 - Dictionary Day

October 20 - National Day of Writing

October 30 - National Frankenstein Day

November 1 - National Authors’ Day

November 6 - Book Lovers’ Day, National Nonfiction Day

November 9 - Young Reader’s Day

November 15 - I Love to Write Day

November 18 - High-five a Librarian Day

December 7- Letter Writing Day

December 12 - Crossword Puzzle Day

December 21 - National Short Story Day

Another Writing Secret - Writing is a Business

Writing is a business. You, as a writer, need to treat your work that way. Also, writers need to understand that publishing is a business.

Book stores get hundreds of requests for signings. They have to outlay time and money for events for staffing, stocking books, and promotion. Many are choosy or reluctant to host unknown authors. Some will not host authors whose unsold books are not returnable. Find ways to sell your proposed signing (e.g. book talk on a subject that their shoppers would be interested in, providing a group of authors who can bring readers to the store, a marketing campaign for publicizing the event). Find out if they will let you provide the books on consignment.

Agents, editors, and publishers sign authors that they think they can sell their work. Sometimes, it’s not your writing. It could be that the topic/subject has been done before, and it will be hard to sell in your genre. Do your research of what is out there before you write the next bookshop or knitting mystery.

Publishers are looking several years ahead to fill their slots, and there are not a lot of openings on the dockets. It takes months/years sometimes for a book to be published traditionally. Make your manuscript the best it can be before you start querying.

Always be professional. It sounds like a no-brainer, but you want to be easy to work with. People tend to avoid the whiners, divas, and complainers.

Make sure that you are polished and that your marketing materials look professional.

• You need a professional headshot (not a selfie).

• Your social media sites, websites, newsletter, and business cards should have the same look and feel. (One shouldn’t be red while the others are pink and mint green.) The similar look and photo let people know that it’s your site.

• Make sure you have business cards with you at all times. You never know when a networking opportunity will appear.

• Have a press kit on your website with short and long biographies, headshots, your book credits, and a way to contact you.

Writing is a tough business. Everyone has feedback, and there are a lot of rejections. But there are things you can do to be prepared. Professionalism is key.

Another Writing Secret - Avoid Complacency

Sometimes it’s easy to get stuck in a rut or the “new normal,” and complacency sets in. I am grateful for all the author opportunities that I’ve had during this journey. I also feel that I always need to keep learning and growing. The publishing world changes almost daily. Here are some ideas to conquer the humdrums.

• Learn something new for your writing career. Try a new tool or a new social media platform.

• Challenge yourself to step out of your comfort zone. Volunteer. Teach a class. Mentor someone. You learn when you grow and stretch and help others.

• Listen to feedback and decide what you can use to improve your writing. Not all reviews or feedback from critiques are constructive. But learn what you can.

• On days you don’t feel like writing, challenge yourself. Can you complete a shorter writing session? Can you work on other book marketing tasks in its place?

• Get yourself organized. I always do better when my work place is neat.

• Do something that scares you a little bit. Try new (safe) things. We have new recipe Tuesdays to mix up our stale dinner menus.

• Start a craft or a creative project.

• Look at your online analytics for your website and social media sites. What can you learn from them? What can you change to improve your posts? See what posts and times work better for your audience.

• Look at last year’s revenue and expenses. Where can you improve? Are you paying for things or services you don’t really need or that don’t really help your writing life?

Writing is a business and it’s a commitment. I’m always looking for things that I can do improve. What would you add to my list?

Asking for Blurbs - Tips for Writers

Authors (and publishers) like to have blurbs (recommendation quotes) from other authors. Sometimes, your publisher/publicist will help you acquire them. If they don’t, here are some tips to help you request them.

• Start with writers in your genre. It’s always good to have others in the industry blurb your book. It also helps if they read/write the type of book you do. They understand the conventions and the readers. (I wouldn’t ask a fantasy author to blurb a cozy mystery.)

• Seek out your published writer friends. My writing and critique group friends have been very generous with their time. You may find folks who share an agent or publisher with you who would be willing to trade blurbs.

• Don’t ask the same people to blurb each of the books in your series.

• Look at the book bloggers in your genre. They may be willing to give you a blurb if it’s the type of book that they recommend and read.

• Give those you are requesting to help you as much lead time as possible. Everyone is busy.

• Make it easy for the person. After they agree to send you a quote, send them an ARC (Advance Reader Copy). Also provide a short summary or synopsis of the book.

• Don’t be disappointed if you get a “no” or “not right now.” Again, everyone is busy.

• Think outside of the box. If there is an expert in a field related to your story, he or she may be a good option for an endorsement.

• After your book is published, collect the reviews in a document. Many publishers will ask for “praise for” quotes. These are often included inside of the other books in the series. You can also make graphics of the great ones to use on your social media sites.

• Always thank the person who takes the time to read your work and send you a quote.

Write Books and Cash Checks - Not Quite

When I was younger, I thought a writer was one who created books and cashed checks (and occasionally did a book signing). When the first contracts arrived, I realized, writing is a business, and you need to treat yours that way.

Guard Your Writing Time - Life gets in the way, and you have so many obligations. You need to schedule time for your writing and call it work. If it’s a hobby or entertainment, it’s not valued for what it is. When people ask what you’re doing, the answer is working.

Schedule Your Writing Time - Make sure you schedule some time (every day if possible) to write and to do research or marketing tasks. When it’s on the calendar and reserved, I tend to treat it like a scheduled, important event.

Brand Yourself - You are a writer. Make sure you have the tools to network. You need business cards and a website. Your tools should all have the same look and feel as your social media sites. Make sure your headshot is professional and is current.

Build Your Email List - Your email list is your list of contacts. Make sure you take a sign-up sheet to all of your events and put a registration form on your website. If your social media platforms go under or you get banned, you will have no way to contact all of those followers. Spend time cultivating your contact list.

Network - Writing is the solitary part, but you need contacts and the support of others. Join writers’ groups in your genre. Many have networking opportunities, classes, and opportunities to share information with other writers. Build your contacts. You never know when you’ll need an editor, cover designer, publicist, etc. Plus, other writers are awesome sources of advice.

Keep up with the Adminy Tasks - Writing is a business. (I’ve said that before.) Make sure you keep up with the details like filing receipts, tracking mileage and expenditures, and paying taxes.

Know That Your Time is Valuable - You can’t do it all. Figure out what tasks you can afford to hire others to help you to do. And this is a tough one, but you have to learn how to say no to things you just can’t do.

This is a tough business and a tough job, but it’s also so rewarding.

Some Valuable Advice I Learned over the Years

I am so grateful for all the encouragement and support my writerly friends have shared with me through the years. It’s been invaluable on this writing journey. Here are some of the ideas that resonated.

• Not every reader is going to buy, read, or like your book. Your book is competing with millions of books for attention. You need to target your book marketing toward people who read your genre.

• The good news is that readers read and buy more than one book a year (month, week…). Other writers aren’t your competition.

• You will not be everyone’s cup of tea. There will be bad or not-so-good reviews. Learn what you can from them and move on.

• You need to be social on social media. It takes time to build fans, followers, and readers. Don’t be that “buy my book” author all the time.

• Your email/newsletter list is valuable. You own it. It takes care and feeding to grow it. (If your social media platforms shut down, you’d have no way of contacting your followers.)

• Writing is more than creating books and cashing royalty checks. It’s work, and it’s a business. If you’re serious about your writing, you need to treat it like a business.

Daunting Tasks - Tips for Writers

We all have tasks that cause us to procrastinate. For me, editing is the hardest writing task. I have to figure out ways to keep myself motivated and focused. It never fails. I’m supposed to be updating a manuscript with edits, and then I’m off watching llama or cute dog videos. Here are some ideas when for those pesky, daunting tasks.

• Break huge, hairy tasks into smaller chunks. That way, you can see progress when you finish the smaller milestones.

• Reward yourself when you finish. I take a social media break after five chapters of editing. I get to switch gears for a minute, but I know that I’m also working on what I’m supposed to.

• Make lists and prioritize items that need to be done first. That way, you can schedule things that don’t have to be done right away. It doesn’t feel as daunting when you realize everything doesn’t have to be done right away.

• When I’m doing my not-so-favorite tasks, I make sure that I’m super comfy…warm socks, favorite pen, awesome playlist, and my favorite drink.

• If I don’t pay attention, paper, sticky notes, and copies of things pile up on my desk. I try to keep the loose paper under control weekly. If I don’t, then there’s a mountain of clutter which becomes its own challenge.

• Try to make a schedule for things you need to do on a routine basis (e.g. updating your website, checking your social media sites, answering emails, etc.) If you know you have a timeslot for that work, it becomes part of your normal routine. And like the mounds of paper, it’s much easier to tackle a little at a time.

My Book's Going to Be Published - Now What?

If you thought it took a long for agents and publishers to respond to your query, wait until you get your publication date. It seems like it’s so far in the future. Here are some things you can do that will help prepare you for your book launch.

• Work on building your email list. This is the one thing you own. If your social media sites are removed, you have no way of contacting those readers. Find ways to advertise your newsletter and build a following. Do social media posts, partner with other authors, or host a contest. Make sure to take your sign-up list to all of your events. Make sure NOT to add anyone to your list who didn’t sign up for it.

• Build your following on your key social media sites. Follow readers and writers in your genre. Follow book reviewers and librarians. Be active with your audience. Make sure to comment and share others’ posts. You don’t want to be the author who only posts about her books.

• Join Facebook groups for book lovers. Many of these will let you advertise your book or host a take-over day where you can find new readers.

• When you do a Facebook take-over, make sure to include a link in each post for your email signup for those who what to keep in touch. When I started doing this, I’ve noticed a jump in newsletter subscribers after each event.

• Work on a promotional plan for your book launch. Even if your publisher is assisting with the publicity, you’ll still need to schedule blogs, blog tours, Facebook ads, and events. Make a list of all the things you will need to update and a list of all those you will need to contact. Remember, bloggers and book tour folks usually book 3-4 months in advance.

• Learn a new skill or software that will help you create graphics or videos. There are a lot of free and paid tools out there that make it easy to create images for your social media posts.

• Use your time and write your next book.