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What I Didn’t Say About Life as an Author
Last night, I was honored to have been asked to do a book talk at my local library in Severna Park. I gave a little background on my writing, shared my books, and talked about what it’s like to be an indie author. I said a lot. I answered questions. I was positive. But there was much that I didn’t say…and I feel obligated to share it here. Full disclosure. Complete honesty. So, here it goes. What I didn’t say was… I didn’t say how hard it is to wake up every day and be consumed by what you can do to sell one book. Just one. I didn’t say…
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How to Put A Book Campaign Together: A Writer’s Life Tackling Book Promotion
*** Below you will find the entire social media advertising campaign that I’ve been sharing bit-by-bit on Facebook and Instagram. I’m sharing the whole campaign here in one place. (I’m going to do the same with the 22 teaser ads I created–one for each short story from The Postcard and Other Short Stories & Poetry). This […]
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A 5-Star Review for Inn Significant from Readers’ Favorite
First, the review: Reviewed by Ruffina Oserio for Readers’ Favorite “Inn Significant: A Novel by Stephanie Lynn Verni is a beautiful story that looks at the heart of depression. Milly Foster lost the will to live the moment she learned about her husband’s tragic death. And that was two years ago. Asking her to look after their business while they are away to help a friend in a startup bed and breakfast in Ireland, her parents couldn’t imagine what this would do to her. While at the inn, Milly’s colleague, John, discovers a diary to her grandma. Read on to find out how an old journey changes everything in…
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Book Promotion for Inn Significant
It’s looking like my new novel will be available in two weeks. I am down to the last few changes, and soon, my friends, it will be in your hands. I wish the process could be a quicker one (for all of us, believe me!), but producing a novel takes time, especially when you write, edit, design, and market it yourself. That’s why it’s called independent or/or self-publishing. We are jack of all trades when it comes to this hobby. So today, I’m sharing a promo piece I put together for the book that I’ll be using to help promote it. I got the idea from an advertisement for a…
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The Game is Always On: The Truth About Being an Indie Author
I don’t know about you, fellow indie authors, but there are only so many hours in the day for us to write and promote our books. However, the game is always on, and you can’t afford to slack. For me, writing is the most pleasurable and most fun part of being an independent author, just because I love the creative process so much. The marketing is by far the most challenging, and so we rely on others to help us via word-of-mouth or shares on social media. I’m knee deep into writing my third novel, and it’s going well so far. I hope to complete this book by the end…
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It’s Not Bragging. It’s Marketing.
It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there, and if you don’t toot your own horn now and then, you will get buried in the monstrous pile of authors who are all doing the same thing you are doing. The life of an independent author is not a glamorous one, unless of course, you are Amanda Hocking. The world of the independent author who participates in this craft is one of resilience, determination, boundless creativity, and an unwillingness to stop promoting a product you think is decent work (at least good enough to share with the public). Therefore, when you get a 5-Star Review from a reputable organization such as Readers’ Favorite,…
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It’s All About Love
* * * One of the things I’ve had to come to grips with lately is that if you have created something that is independently yours, whether it’s in the role of author of a book, director of an indie film, or maker of lovely art, you will always be working, always promoting. Additionally, you have to believe that you are your own brand and must act as the innovator, marketer, branding expert, and salesperson of the work you have created. That’s a lot of responsibility to put on one mere person who probably can’t afford to do this craft without another full-time job or source of other income. So…
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What The Mouse Knows
Disney. It sells happiness. It sells magic. It sells families. It sells memories. We were discussing Disney today during our first class of Advertising this semester. Our topic was “positioning.” How does one position a company? How does one position himself? Positioning began as a phrase and notion that came along in the 1970s by a pair of marketing and advertising gurus name Al Ries and Jack Trout. Together, they wrote the book my classes use as their text entitled: “Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind.” Despite the fact that this book has aged, the concept the two developed of positioning has stuck. Companies position their brands; celebrities position themselves;…
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LL Cool J, Goals & Awards
I would by lying if I said I didn’t want to place in the National Indie Excellence Awards contest for authors. This morning’s butterflies told me so; I had received an email the day before letting me know the winners and finalists would be announced today. I have a bit of a competitive spirit about me and was hopeful that Beneath the Mimosa Tree would receive a positive reception from the judges. It did. I am a finalist for romance. The winner in the category is Bonnie Trachtenberg, a lovely lady I met in Miami in November when we accepted our medals at the Readers’ Favorite Book Awards. I am…
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Why I Write, Part III, The Finale
One of my favorite authors is Kate DiCamillo. She writes beautiful, lyrical stories that you generally find in the young adult section of book stores. Her stories are somewhat mystical, and despite that her stories are geared to children through young teens, I believe they are wonderful stories for all ages. I recently watched a video of her where she was talking about becoming a writer. She mentions that she walked around for 10 years wearing the uniform of a writer—a black turtleneck and jeans—saying she was going to be a writer, but she never did anything about it. Then, she said, she got off her duff and wrote her…
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Positioning Yourself & Your Work
In 1972, two guys name Al Ries and Jack Trout collaborated on a series of articles for Advertising Age. The articles were about positioning: positioning a company or a brand in advertising. Now, 41 years later, the term “positioning” still holds true and is a buzzword among media creatives. The question? How can we get a consumer to pay attention to us in this, as Ries and Trout call it, a highly “over-communicated society.” Their question is even more viable today as it was in 1972. We are inundated by messages all day long. Think about it: We see ads on Facebook, Twitter, on television and radio, billboards, bus signs,…
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BENEATH THE MIMOSA TREE Available for iPad…and more…at Smashwords
Just when you thought the marketing of my novel was over…now I’ve formatted it for the iPad and others. I’m still chugging along. Summer may be coming to an end, but I’m still attempting to get more readers. Perhaps you’re sick of reality TV and would love and hunker down with a contemporary romance… Michael’s and Annabelle’s stories may not be that different from your own…see the trailer below for more about my novel. 5-Star review, Readers Favorite & Finalist for Contemporary Romance. If you have an iPad, now you can purchase BENEATH THE MIMOSA TREE from Smashwords. It’s properly formatted for the iPad, and is also available in PDF…
