Author: Elizabeth Spann Craig

I’m looking forward to meeting with a book club tonight at Uwharrie Books in Locust, North Carolina.

Book clubs are usually a lot more fun for me than signings. At most signings, the folks who come into the bookstore have no idea who you are (unless they’ve come out specifically to see you) and may not be interested in the types of books you write.

At a book club, you’ve got a group of people who’ve chosen your book to read. And the sales pressure is off, which is always a real relief. They’ve (usually) read your book and are eager to talk to you about it.

Usually book clubs fall into two different groups—the kind that takes a more casual approach where you participate as a book club member—by sitting as part of the group, listening to the discussion, and answering any questions the readers have about why you chose to send the plot in a particular direction or what inspired a particular character.

The other kind wants you to talk a little about your book—the inspiration for it, the challenges and fun of writing it, and things like cover selection, etc. and then open it up to questions.

I usually come prepared for either one. :)

I hear sometimes from authors who are interested in reaching out to book clubs and aren’t sure how to find them. Good places to check are usually libraries (my local branch has a book club that focuses on mysteries), bookstores (which frequently have book clubs meet in their cafes—and Borders has recently made a public drive to attract book clubs to its stores), churches, and clubhouses for different subdivisions.

Things I’ve discovered from talking at book clubs:

Find out if you should bring anything. I’ve been to book clubs where everyone brought food. They probably would tell me not to bring food, but I feel funny not bringing anything with me when everyone else is.

Bring bookmarks, postcards, and other small giveaways. Individually-wrapped chocolates and mints are always popular. :)

Consider doing a door prize giveaway for one book club member to win.

Bring a sign up sheet for your email newsletter, if you have one.

Consider bringing a cheat sheet with your book’s characters on it. I hate to admit it, but sometimes when I’m on the spot, I’ve been known to forget a minor character’s name. It doesn’t look good for someone else to know your book better than you do.

Be prepared that someone might not like your book and will talk about why they didn’t. It’s tough, but learn to accept it and not get defensive.

Be prepared for the book club to find deeper meaning in your book than you intended. :) It’s happened to me a couple of times and I loved their ideas about my book,although symbolism wasn’t my intention. A lot of book clubs are used to reading literary fiction.

Be prepared to talk succinctly about what you’re working on next.

Have you ever spoken to a book club or belonged to one where authors spoke? How did it go?

One thing that I noticed during my book tour was how many people would like to be writers or authors.

A couple of times, writers approached our table at signings. They wanted to know our secrets for getting an agent or getting a publisher. And, yes, the word “secret” was actually used by one of the people.

My mind boggled a little at the thought of boiling all the publishing advice down into the quick sound bite they seemed to be looking for. Avery Aames, who was with me, was very good to point to helpful reference guides for writers— Literary Marketplace (which you can also get an online subscription to) and Writers Market, and the need to direct queries to the right agent instead of doing a blanket search.

I was glad Avery jumped in because honestly, I’m not sure how I would have answered that question in less than twenty minutes (which was time I didn’t have.)

Thinking on it now, I’d also recommend that people read books in the genre they’re writing to make sure they’re in line with the market expectations for the genre, read industry-related blogs—written by agents and editors as well as writers, that they find an objective person to help critique their work, and that they learn how to write a query letter from sites like Query Shark, The Rejector, Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent, and Pub Rants. This is all assuming they’ve really got their manuscript in excellent, submission-ready shape.

Avery also mentioned the need to develop a thick skin and persevere, which I thought was a very good point. She and I both got our share of rejections before landing our agents and publishers (I was actually rejected at least once by the agent I currently have.)

Avery might disagree, but I thought the writers looked a little disappointed with her on-target advice…and maybe were hoping for a magic bullet. Sad to say, there really isn’t one—it’s just a combination of luck, perseverance, research, and practicing the craft.

Then there were people I’ve spoken to recently who’ve looked at me sadly and said they always wanted to be a writer.

For those folks, I’m quick to respond, but I think I need to develop a more sympathetic approach. Actually, my approach is more reproach. If you’ve always wanted to write, you should write! It may not be the luxury of hours of writing (it’s not for me), but you can fit in ten to fifteen minutes a day if you really want to. That’s exactly what I did seven years ago with Sesame Street playing in the background as I scratched together a first draft. If you write a page a day, you can have a first draft in less than a year.

And these people clearly wanted to write. They really looked like they were on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams when they were talking to me about their hope of writing.

Plus—they spoke in the past tense as if it was too late to try to write. It’s never too late. I’ve not seen a single agent or editor who wants to know how old we are in our query letter. All they care about is a good story. It is too late, though, if we’re dead before we try to pen something. And then that is a shame.

What advice do you have for people looking for an agent or publisher? And what do you tell people who say they always wanted to write (because I think I need some sensitivity training for that second question.) :)

Here are writing links that I’ve posted to Twitter for the past week. (And there are fewer tweets—I went on a Tweetcation while I was out of town.) :) If you’re looking for a particular topic, just plug in your keyword into the search box at the top left-hand corner of the blog (on the black header right above my blog name…next to the Blogger symbol…the small search window is next to the magnifying glass) and the roundup with your subject will come up. To narrow your search down on the page, do a CTRL+F, type your subject, and hit enter.

Create a Web Banner in Microsoft Word: http://dld.bz/s6bW

Elevate Your Ending: http://dld.bz/s6bQ

6 Steps to a Prettier Blog (sans designer): http://dld.bz/s6bK

The Irony of Impossible: http://dld.bz/s6bG

10 Sunday Night Blues Busters for a Better Monday Morning: http://dld.bz/s6aU

How to Crush It As a Writer: The ‘Weird’ Trick: http://dld.bz/s6aT

Best Articles This Week for Writers 8/27/2010: http://dld.bz/tBMZ @4KidLit

Are you benefiting from the intimacy of pronouns? http://dld.bz/s6aG

Writers–what’s your specialty? http://dld.bz/tByS

The Death of Print Publishing: http://dld.bz/s6a9

How the media gets it wrong: http://dld.bz/tBy3 @victoriastrauss

The elevator pitch: http://dld.bz/s6av

A Post About Plotting: http://dld.bz/s6aq

Dealing With Rejection And Moving On: http://dld.bz/s6aj

The Writer Olympics: http://dld.bz/s6ah

Revisions are a messy but necessary beast: http://dld.bz/s6aw

How Can Writers Know if Their Writing Is Ready For Querying? http://dld.bz/s5ZQ

What Fiction Writers Blog About: http://dld.bz/s5YA

Windows and Mirrors: Stories That Cross Borders: http://dld.bz/s5ZP

23 (More) Websites that Make Your Writing Stronger: http://dld.bz/s5ZE

How To Be A Completely Authentic Tweep (Without Sending People Screaming in the Opposite Direction) http://dld.bz/s5Z4

Are You Ready To Submit Your Novel? http://dld.bz/rHmu and http://dld.bz/s5Z2

When Christian fiction becomes preachy: http://dld.bz/s5Zd

Do e-readers mean more book reading? http://bit.ly/b9EaWE @MermaidHel

Five Simple Things Agents Can Do To Make Writers’ Lives Easier (and Three Things Writers Should Do Regardless): http://dld.bz/s5Zc

The Query Critique Group: http://dld.bz/s5YY

Ten Reasons To Keep Writing: http://dld.bz/s5YT

Keywords: A writer’s guide to attracting more traffic to your blog: http://dld.bz/s5YC

Writing — When Things Go Wrong: http://dld.bz/s5Y8

How Important is Blogging For Unpublished Writers? http://dld.bz/s5Y2

9 Ways to Use Social Media to Inspire Your Writing: http://dld.bz/s5Yn

The Two Laws for In-Person Critique: http://dld.bz/s5Yj

The importance of having our characters *want* something: http://dld.bz/s5Yd

Better to wine than to whine: http://dld.bz/sxGs

Untying the knot while weaving the tapestry of a novel: http://dld.bz/s4pB

The Key to Forming a New Habit: http://dld.bz/sxNx

What is dynamic? http://dld.bz/sxNq

Why digital publishing didn’t catch on 10 years ago–and why it might now: http://dld.bz/sxNp

The 5 Best Start Page Services to Start Your MorningThe 5 Best Start Page Services to Start Your Morning: http://dld.bz/sxNe

Today’s Tweak: Show Don’t Tell: http://dld.bz/sxNa

Writing to meet your Needs: http://dld.bz/sxMX

Writing today for tomorrow’s world: http://dld.bz/sxMS

Where We Write: The Merits of Making Do: http://dld.bz/sxMP

Poets & Writers releases list of top 50 MFA programs for 2011: http://dld.bz/ttEx

Agents Tell All at RWA National: http://dld.bz/sxKw

Writing the Basics. Sentence Structure, Paragraph Structure and Why they Matter: http://dld.bz/sxJu

“Delicious and Suspicious” giveaway on The World of Book Reviews blog: http://bit.ly/aFtZie @Babslighthouse

The Changing Face of Publishing: http://dld.bz/sxJn

The Wastefulness of Decluttering; or How to Make Less Count for More: http://dld.bz/sxJm

The tao of novel pacing: http://bit.ly/bmoRUw @HeatherMcCorkle

How to Stay Productive When the Internet Is Down: http://dld.bz/sxJf

Are You Making It Hard for People to Comment on Your Blog? http://dld.bz/sxHQ

60 Tips to Improve Your Nonfiction Writing: http://dld.bz/sxHH

Strengthen your story with proper framing: http://dld.bz/sxHx

Your writing business–tips for running it: http://dld.bz/sxGr

Nurturing talent in writers: http://dld.bz/sxHY

What will future generations of writers relate to? http://dld.bz/sxGh

When You Simply MUST Finish: http://dld.bz/sxGc

5 Time Management Tips for Those Writers & Freelancers Who Can: http://dld.bz/sxFX

When Are Characters Off Limits? http://dld.bz/sxBN

How much do writers make? The Rejecter explains: http://bit.ly/d417ee

How to sign an e-book (Baltimore Sun) : http://dld.bz/sxBu

Crime fiction fashions and trends–do trends affect you, if you’re a mystery writer? http://bit.ly/csQtMJ @mkinberg

5 keys to realistic dialogue: http://bit.ly/cuEdjZ @clarissadraper

The Power of an E-mail Network (10 Years in the Making): http://dld.bz/sxBr

Unblock Your Writing Through Visualization: http://dld.bz/sxBm

What Makes a Good First Sentence: http://dld.bz/sxAT

Ten top tips for new writers: http://dld.bz/sxAK

The Perks of Being Unpublished: http://dld.bz/sxAD

Be a better beta: http://dld.bz/sxAA

5 Resources for Tracking Your To-do Lists: http://dld.bz/sxA8

How to Write a Query Letter: http://dld.bz/sxAz @victoriastrauss

The tussle over Barnes & Noble (LA Times): http://dld.bz/sxAv

How To Have Zen In Your Pen Again And Again: http://dld.bz/sxAk

5 tips on using social media to market yourself: http://dld.bz/sx9Z

How to Use Tone To Your Advantage (Zelda Style): http://dld.bz/sx9x

8 Ways Writers Can Push Themselves To Grow: http://dld.bz/sx9t @jodyhedlund

Simple ways to streamline your writing life: http://dld.bz/sx9k @jillkemerer

Voice, voice, voice: http://dld.bz/sx77 @RoniGriffin

A few times this summer, we’ve gone out to eat with our son and he’s been dissatisfied with his meal.

He was really excited about the food when he ordered it, but when he got the steak from the seafood restaurant, or the seafood salad from the deli, he wasn’t thrilled with the results.

I wasn’t really connecting the dots on my end, either. But finally (I’m slow sometimes) I realized there was a pattern to the problems with his orders. He wasn’t ordering the specialty of the house. Actually, he wasn’t even ordering something that the restaurant was very particularly good at cooking. He was just ordering what he was in the mood to eat.

So I pointed out to him the next time we went out, that if we were at a burger joint, he should get a burger—not a spinach quiche. If we were at a barbeque restaurant, he should get a barbeque sandwich—not the grilled chicken. It was better to order something that played to the restaurant’s strengths to produce more satisfying results.

I think, for a lot of writers, we’ve got a ton of ideas and aren’t sure which to write first. To me, it’s like those restaurants with the huge menus—there are lots of possibilities, but they can’t deliver some things as well as others.

That’s the nice thing about being creative—we get all these great ideas…all the time.

Since I’m focused right now on the projects I’m under contract for, I tend to just jot down these ideas and put them in a Word file for later.

But what if you’re trying to decide what ideas to write? Or even what genre to focus on?

That’s when I think it’s a good idea to play to our strengths.

Of course, every genre has a range of draws for readers and writers. But some genres are better known for some qualities than others. Do you write really riveting action scenes? You probably should focus on a genre like thrillers or fantasy/sci fi that allow you to showcase that talent.

Are your characters your strong point? Do they jump off the page? Choose a genre that’s more character focused and less about nonstop action.

Are you naturally funny and write humor well? Consider focusing on writing a lighter read instead of literary fiction.

That’s definitely not to say that we can’t include a lot of different elements in our books—but maybe we should pick an idea or a genre that really plays to our strengths for our first efforts—and try a more challenging project later.

What’s your specialty of the house?

I’ve basically trained myself to be creative on demand—and leave my muse out of the equation all together. Inspiration is too unpredictable—I seem to get better results from just old fashioned perseverance.

But there are times when it’s more difficult to write than others and I wonder if there are other writers out there in the same boat.

I’m going to limit my observations here to genre writing, which is all I’m familiar with. But—and this is a generalization—I think that genre writers are some of the hardest-working folks in the business.

I’m part of a couple of different promotional groups that are made up of genre writers published by big houses. Many of them have more than one series that they’re currently working on. Most are promoting at least one new release while on deadline with at least one book. And they’re promoting the heck out of the new release–really strenuous, long-term marketing.

Almost all of them do a lot of sales tracking. And there are plenty of places to track these numbers. Some of them get the numbers directly from their editor (I got a few numbers from mine.) Some subscribe to Publisher’s Alley (and I’ll admit to being a subscriber.) Some even subscribe to Bookscan, which is REALLY pricy. Others look at Amazon and Barnes and Noble sales.

I do some sales tracking. I know enough to know that Delicious and Suspicious is selling well. I know enough to know that my publisher is happy with me.

But when I start doing sales comparisons between other releases or try to figure out where my sales are coming from or how to duplicate it—it just messes me up when I try to segue into a writing session.

I think this is because I’m being analytical—which is something I’m not great at, anyway. Then I try to go from looking at charts and numbers and chart legends—and return to being creative.

It’s hard. Most of the writers I know look to good numbers as validation of their writing talent. Or at numbers as a sign whether their series is going to be continued or not. And they’re still busily working on their next book or coming up with the next series idea while they’re tracking sales.

Going from sales figures to creative writing isn’t easy. It’s also not easy to go from reading negative reviews (which happen to all of us) back to writing.

So, for me? I just want to know things in generalizations. Is my publisher happy or unhappy? If they’re unhappy, is there anything I can do to make amends or help out in any way from a marketing perspective?

On my end, I’m just planning to promote as best I can and write as well as I can. Because I think it all boils down to the writing in the end. Readers will buy good books. But I’ve had plenty of authors look at me askance when I’ve admitted that sales tracking only makes me feel anxious.

What do you think? If you’re published, do you study sales tracking? Or, if you’re unpublished, is there another factor that messes up your writing mojo?