The Perfectionist and La Belle Vie

My guest today is Rebecca Ramsey, author of French By Heart, a slice of life book about her experiences living in France. She shares some thoughts on being a perfectionist and it's impact on her life and her love of writing.

I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date!

Sia, you were so kind to invite me for coffee, and here I am, showing up out of breath and behind schedule! To beg your forgiveness I’ve brought you a little bouquet of dandelions I snatched out of my yard and a box of Pims from my cupboard. It’s my favorite French cookie, sort of like a vanilla wafer topped with raspberry and dipped in chocolate. I hope you’re not allergic.

I write memoir, which means I’m an expert on embarrassing myself in public. Let me tell you, living in France was the perfect training. During my first days (years?) I stumbled through my life, speaking like a caveman. “What time bus come?” “Bill late. I sorry. No turn off water please.” I arrived in France as a perfectionist and left four years later, remarkably comfortable with my own slackness. This was just what my writing needed.

As a young girl I’d wanted desperately to write. I entered contests and won a few prizes, but could I make writing my life? It was too painful. I wrote marvelously in my mind, but something always happened on the way to the page. I’d psyche myself up with Simon and Garfunkel, (the records were old even then—I’m not that ancient) write a page or two, and throw myself on the floor in despair. My poor mother.

I decided to major in Biochemistry instead.

After graduation I spent my days in the lab, writing poetry in my mind. It was a sad little life. I’d jot out elegant descriptions of crystalline precipitates that no one would ever read, and I’d agonize over the mice I killed. Wasn’t there more to life? I finally quit to teach chemistry to high school students. We’d work on stoichiometry and titrate acids with bases, but I also made them write poetry and work on their observational skills. “But this isn’t English class!” the students would protest.

Thank goodness France saved us all.

In France I couldn’t be perfect, no matter how hard I tried, no matter how many hours I spent with Fabien, my handsome tutor. I had three kids to tend to, so I couldn’t hide in my house. The world would have to see me just as I was, an American idiot. And you know what? They didn’t care that I couldn’t speak perfectly! In fact, they seemed excited that I tried to speak at all. Old men would stop traffic for me and total strangers would offer me their help. They’d even invite me over for coffee and tell me how much I was improving!

Everywhere I turned in France, people were taking time to do what they loved. Why couldn’t I? My neighbor Alain spent his two hour lunch break playing his trumpet, Madame Charbonnier hid behind her hedges, reading stacks of trashy books, and Madame Fouriaux doted on a rose garden that filled my house with perfume. I started writing again, and this time I was kinder to myself. I put away my red pen and wrote page after page, never looking back. Okay, so that’s not true. I looked back a little. Old habits are hard to break. But now that I was more comfortable with my own mistakes, I let myself make them. I refused to quit.

I should admit to you that I had an unfair advantage, a little extra motivation in Madame Mallet, the strange old lady who spied on us from behind her lace curtain and called her nephew Le Spermatazoide, on account of the fact that he was conceived through artificial insemination. I’m telling you, anyone living across the street from Madame Mallet would have to write a book. My husband recently visited her on a business trip and told her about French by Heart. She looked at him coyly and said, “It’s about me, isn’t it?”

So friends, if you struggle with perfectionism, I wish you much humiliation! And your very own Madame Mallet!

***

After four years of la belle vie in Clermont-Ferrand, France, Rebecca Ramsey and her family are now settled back home in Greer, South Carolina. Between chauffeuring her children, observing her southern life, and keeping an eye out for French pastries, she writes every spare moment she can.

You can visit Rebbeca at her blog and website.

Rebecca's Blog: Wonders Never Cease, at http://www.rebeccasramsey.blogspot.com/

Rebecca's Website: www.rebeccasramsey.com

Reading – a Waste of Time or A Good Investment?

Debut Author Sherrie Hansen is my guest Over Coffee today. She is the proprietor of Blue Belle Inn B&B and Tea House, Queen Anne Victorian, in St. Ansgar, Iowa. Like the heroine in her novel, Night & Day, is an avid quilter.

There are those that don’t see reading as a gift. They see it as a tool and one reserved for either school or work. Reading for pleasure? A waste of time—unless you’re a child or old. Once you leave childhood, reading is a luxury. Outside of school, your time better spent on the business of life and work. Sherrie talks about her rediscovering the love of reading and how it’s shaped her writing.

Some of my earliest memories are of bedtime stories being read to me, and I loved to read books from the time I learned how. When I was in grade school and junior high I had special library privileges – because I had to jump on the school bus as soon as school was out. I was dismissed from class 5 or 10 minutes early each day so I could go to the library and pick out a book, which I would then read that night and return the next morning. On Sundays, I would check out several books from the church library. I read at least one book a day.

When I was little, my parents thought it was nice that I liked to read so much. They were proud that I was such an avid reader. But I was raised on a farm where everyone was expected to pitch in and help, and as I got older, what was perceived as cute became an irritation, especially to my Dad, who thought I should be working instead of “wasting time” reading. I took to reading late at night, sometimes in my bed, with a flashlight, half hidden under the covers, so my parents wouldn’t see the light. There are photos of me sitting at a picnic table or in the back seat of the car when we were on family vacations, reading, when according to my Mom and Dad, I should have been doing things with my family – hiking, swimming – the things “normal” kids do. When I tried to read, my sisters and brothers teased me. My parents yelled at me. Reading became a sore spot.

I stubbornly ignored them and kept reading… and writing. A poetry class and then, a creative writing teacher, inspired and encouraged me to write, to express myself. I was a straight A student, fueled as much by what I learned from the books I read as what I was taught in class.

But somewhere about the time I was a junior in high school, I started to accept the message that was repeated over and over again – at worst, that reading was a waste of time, at best, that reading was something people only did when they were too old to work and had nothing better to do with their time. I stopped reading for pleasure. My school courses became more demanding and required more reading, and I was involved in several extracurricular activities – choir, yearbook editor, 4-H, youth group at church – that required my attention and took a lot of time.

This was even more true in college. What free time I did have was spent talking with friends in my dorm. I started working and dating. I wrote reams of poetry while I was at Wheaton, exulting in first loves and new experiences, questioning, learning, growing up. But I read only what I had to.

I married after two years at Wheaton and moved to Germany. I continued my studies and wrote avidly – this time in the form of term papers and hundreds of hand-written letters to my parents, in-laws, Grandmas, and friends. But I didn’t read. I earned money and I worked. I gave up the fight and listened to the inner voice in my head that said I was being lazy when I sat down to read a book… that I should be working… that I should be doing something worthwhile, productive… if nothing else, seeing the sights and experiencing Europe.

It didn’t help that books written in English weren’t that readily available in Germany. No e-books back in the 70’s! But more importantly, my life was in crisis. My marriage was a mess, and I made a series of bad choices in the years that followed… choices that I was ashamed of, felt guilty about, and couldn’t talk… or write… about. I lost hope, felt depressed, eventually got divorced. I neither read nor wrote during this period. How can a person read stories with a happy ending when you are so cynical that you don’t believe in them? Writing seemed pointless. It didn’t solve anything, help anything, change anything.

I acquired a sarcastic wit as I fought my way back to emotional health and rebuilt my tattered financial status. I worked countless hours opening a business and eventually found both happiness and success. But I never opened a book.

It’s ironic now to think back on that time period — the fact that each of the rooms at my Bed and Breakfast is named after a book attests to the fact that I still had a passion for reading. The rooms are named after books I’d read as a child, The Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder, The Secret Garden, and Sherwood Forest from Robin Hood. There are rooms from Sleeping Beauty, NeverNeverland A Wrinkle in Time, Heaven to Betsy, one of the Betsy – Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace… the books I’d loved as a child were the only books I knew, because I had stopped reading by the time I became an adult.

Then, a friend invited me to join her at Prince Edward Island for a week and a half. Her aunt and uncle owned a vacation house on the water, and had rented the one next door for us to stay. I arrived at the sleepy little island one summer day, and felt immediately at home. Plainly rural, yet beautifully scenic, it lives up to its Indian name, Abegweit, or land cradled by the waves.

I’d never been on a seaside vacation. My family camped, changing locations every night, seeing new sights every day, traveling hundreds of miles over the course of a week’s vacation. I was bored silly, or more accurately, fit to be tied, after 3 days.

My friend’s Aunt Doris was a reader. She handed me a book and told me to relax. I started Sandra Brown’s French Silk later that afternoon, sitting in an old lawn chair, overlooking the water. I had read six books by the time I left for home. She let me take another to read on the airplane. I had finished it by the time I reached New Jersey, and bought another at the airport to take me to Minneapolis. I haven’t stopped since.

I read everything Sandra Brown had ever written. I discovered Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Jill Marie Landis, Dorothy Garlock, LaVyrle Spencer, Nora Roberts, Elizabeth Lowell, Debbie Macomber, Janet Evanovich, Linda Lael Miller, Pamela Morsi, Julie Garwood, Jennifer Crusie and more, devouring their books one by one. Bookshelves once filled with baskets and knick-knacks were now crammed with books.

A year after I visited Prince Edward Island and started reading again, I was inspired to write my first novel. I spent hundreds of dollars to fly to Colorado, rent a car, and attend a writing workshop led by Madelaine L’Engle. My employees, parents, and brothers and sisters all seemed to think I was wasting my time. Would writing pay off? It didn’t seem likely that I would ever get paid for the hours and hours I was spending in front of the computer, typing away.

This time, I again refused to listen. I kept reading… and writing. In my first published book, “Night and Day”, recently released by Second Wind Publishing, Jensen Marie Christiansen finds pure magic on Prince Edward Island, the place where I rediscovered my love of reading. Is it any surprise I chose this very special island to be the setting of Jensen’s dream come true?

Although my family has learned to accept my passion for books and writing, the entrepreneurial side of me is still bothered on some level that I may never net more than one or two cents an hour for the time and energy I’ve spent writing my books. But I have learned to be proud of my voice. I have learned that dreams really do come true. I have learned that I must write… and read. With every book I read, I am far richer than I was before.

***

By day, Sherrie Hansen operates a Victorian Bed & Breakfast and Tea House, The Blue Belle Inn. By night, she enjoys writing novels, blogging http://sherriehansen.wordpress.com/, quilting, playing the piano, renovating old houses and traveling. Sherrie and her husband live in Northern Iowa.

Night & Day is available for order through the Second Wind Website http://secondwindpublishing.com/ in ebook and paperback forms. Paperbacks are also available from Amazon and in Kindle format as well.

An ever better video of Night and Day!

Writing the Successful Synopsis

~Sia McKye~

Most of us have heard the groans of authors when it comes to writing a synopsis. I don't think I've ever heard or read of an author saying, "Oh, that's easy. You just do this, this and that—it's done." Uh, right. That's why we hear grown people almost in tears over it. Also why some authors won’t query agents or publishers requiring a synopsis.

I've look at a lot of sources—agent websites, writing websites, books and some pointers from my writing group. None of who have said, "Oh, easy-peasy." I admit that I've allowed that negative connotation influence me. I think the problem is, we have to confine our synopsis to one, maybe two pages. That should be simple, right? Two pages max. The problem comes in when we are talking about condensing a hundred thousand word document into one or two pages. Tell the story in one or two pages? Are you nuts? At that point we're looking at a mountain we have to take down with spoons and put it into two wheelbarrows. Not so easy.

I read an interesting quote by the author of A Higher Justice with regards to writing one. He said, "The goal is not to explain the entire book. The goal is to get the editor, agent, or reader hooked enough to read the sample chapters and see the market potential." I was always under the impression that we were supposed to tell the whole book and that was my stumbling block.

To overcome that mental picture of a mountainous mass to condense, I've decided to break it into workable sections. I'm only looking at it section by section. Not quite so daunting then.

From what I understand, a synopsis should have five key elements, according to the book, Give 'Em What They Want:

The opening hook—the opening sentences should pull the reader into the synopsis.

Plot highlights—detailing major scene of the story. Incident, reaction, and decision. There were some suggestions under this point, which I found interesting and helpful, in identifying those major scenes.

Quick sketches of the main characters—their motivations and conflicts, especially with each other.

• Do I need this scene to make the primary plot hang together?
  
• Do I need this scene for the ending to make sense?
  

Core Conflicts—No conflict, no story. Makes sense to me. There were some traditional categories of conflict, which I'd never heard of.

• Person vs nature
  
• Person vs society
  
• Person vs self
  

The Conclusion—tying up the loose ends without a cliffhanger. Editors and agents are not fond of guessing. You have to spell out your ending.

The argument is, if a writer can address these key elements, the synopsis shouldn't be too hard to write. I'm not convinced of this, but I'm going to try it. For sure, these points outlined here help an author to be sure all the essentials are addressed in your story, whatever the length of it is. I'll work on the elements and then when I'm comfortable with that, I'll work on the structure.

What are your thoughts on this? What have you found that works in writing a synopsis? Any good resources you’d recommend?

Any success stories?

***
I'm married to a spitzy Italian. We have a ranch out beyond the back 40 where I raise kids, dogs, horses, cats, and have been known to raise a bit of hell, now and then. I have a good sense of humor and am an observer of life and a bit of a philosopher. I see the nuances—they intrigue me.

I’m a Marketing Rep by profession and write fiction. I have written several mainstream Romance novels one of which I’ve out on a partial request. I’ve written and published various articles on Promotion and Publicity, Marketing, Writing, and the Publishing industry.

Aside from conducting various writing discussions and doing numerous guest blogging engagements, each week I promote and share authors’ stories, on the laughter, glitches, triumphs, and fun that writers and authors face in pursuit of their ambition to write—Over Coffee.

Writing Happy Endings—The Beauty of Romance.

I know I’ve mentioned, a time or two, that I love a good romance. One of the reasons I do is the happy ending. The fun is seeing what the characters go through to get that happy ending—sometimes parroting life, at times holding love as something worth fighting for. Life is full of horrific happenings. Love is strong and I happen to think it’s one of the strongest and most enduring qualities. It survives being poor, wars, sickness, and even death. It holds hands with hope and the belief the world isn’t so bad if you have love and share love.

My guest today is Romance author Stephanie Julian. She shares why she likes happy endings. Pull up a chair and join in the discussion.

There is coffee, tea, and yes, now a nice pot of hot chocolate, plenty of scones and muffins. *sliding a crystal bowl of Junior mints near Stephanie. We can’t have withdrawal pangs, Steph, lol!

Thanks for having me, Sia. Do you mind if I bring hot chocolate? I don’t do coffee. Or tea or alcohol (though I love Fuzzy Navels and Mojitos). I don’t smoke either but I do have a wicked addiction to Junior Mints.

And romance.

I’ve been a romance reader all my life, since I first discovered Harlequins in the mid 70s. I think I was eight or ten. I was a pretty precocious reader, graduating to Bertrice Small and Rosemary Rogers by the time I was twelve.

I also read a lot of fantasy, including Tolkien, Eddings and Brooks, and every Stephen King. But even as I enjoyed those stories, I was always looking for more romantic elements. And was vaguely disappointed when a book didn’t have enough romance.

At college, I majored in English. I loved Shakespeare but of course I was the one who wanted to rewrite the ending of “Romeo and Juliet.” The greatest love story of all time and they both die? What the hell? Yes, it’s an amazing written work but I’ll stick with “As You Like It,” thank you very much.

That preference for a Happily Ever After is why I write romance. People who don’t understand or look down on the genre don’t fully understand the appeal.

Why do you want to read a book where you know the ending? That question is one you hear a lot from people who read books where all the major characters die at the end, usually in horrible fashion.

I read romance because I like to believe that life isn’t always so dire. That there is hope and love does triumph even when your world is crumbling down.

Pollyanna much? Maybe. But isn’t that the beauty of romance?

When Rhett Butler walks out of Tara and away from Scarlet, I knew one day she’d follow him and win him back. Same goes for Ilsa and Rick in “Casablanca.” Actually, I just finished working on a ménage so maybe Ilsa and Rick and Victor… Maybe not. But Ilsa and Rick are meant to be together, even if they have to wait until Victor dies heroically liberating death camps.

In my Magical Seduction series for Ellora’s Cave, an entire society of Etruscan magical users has hidden itself in our society, clinging to their old ways while trying to fit into modern life. They still retain their magic; they worship deities (who just happen to be living among us, as well) and fight to keep themselves and their families safe in a world that, if they were exposed, probably wouldn’t look too kindly on them.

Some of them have horns, wings and pointy ears and can change into wolves and other animals. But these stories are first and foremost romances and the central story is always two (or three) people falling in love amid turmoil, suspense and conflict.

How they overcome their obstacles to live Happily Ever After is the best part for me. Yes, writing the sex scenes is fun and exciting but having the story unfold before my eyes is even better. I’m not a detailed plotter. I have a general idea of the story before I start but I typically just start to write when I finally have the main characters in my head.

I had a leg up on that plot for “Seduced by Danger,” the sixth book in the series, just released from EC. It’s a continuation of the story told in “Seduced by Chaos.” I knew Michael and Cara before I started their book and I knew where their journey would take them.

They were going to have a pretty rocky road but, at the end, they would come through and be stronger for it. Together.

And isn’t that what we all want?

***

Stephanie Julian is an avid reader, who used to have a book-a-day habit. Then she realized she not only wanted to read books but write them, too. Romance has always been her first love, the sexier the better. Hot men, strong women and a heaping helping of magic dominate (and she does mean dominate) her blazing hot stories.

When she's not writing, she's, well... she's certainly not cleaning. And she only cooks when her guys complain that they're hungry. Otherwise, she's got her fingers on a keyboard, her butt in a chair and her head in the stars.

For other books in the Magical Seduction series by Stepanie Julian, visit Ellora's Cave http://www.ellorascave.com/

This and other titles in the series are available now.

STEPHANIE IS OFFERING A PRIZE TO

ONE LUCKY COMMENTOR TODAY:

SHADOW MAGIC (on the left) Featuring Seduced by Magic and Seduced in Shadow, books one and two of the Magical Seduction Series.

DANGER: Laughter Ahead—Smart Bitches Working Together

I love a good Romance.

One of the enduring qualities that draw us to romance time and again is the fact they are love stories and traditionally they have an emotionally satisfying ending. Romance stories can be set in practically any time or place. Some like their romance sweet and some—like me—love them hot.

Sarah Wendell, my guest Over Coffee is unabashedly, a lover of Romance novels. Sarah, along with Candy Tan, is part of the dynamic duo known as Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. You may have read their very popular blog by the same name, http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/. Together, Sarah and Candy co-authored the popular book, Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels. As a writer, I have collaborated with others to write. I can tell you it’s not easy and it’s not always smooth sailing, particularly when blending different writing styles and voices into a cohesive end product. So, I wondered how the two of them were able to work together to write such a fantastically funny, irreverent book, especially considering they don’t even live near each other?

I had questions and Sarah was happy to give some me answers:



Sia said, when I asked what she'd like me to write about, that she "was interested in how the two of you took a project such as this and worked together to produce the finished product--I'm sure the tale was full of the usual frustrations, glitches, laughter, and the satisfaction of a job well done. [What were] the reactions of those authors you did contact when they found out what you were doing?"

Since we started the site in 2005, Candy and I have been in the same place at the same time exactly twice. Once in Dallas at the 2006 RWA National, and then in San Francisco at the 2007 RWA National Conference. It could be their new slogan! "RWA: Bringing Smart Bitches Together - and Damn the Consequences."

So we're very used to working online, despite the four-hour time difference between us, and the complete differences of our schedules. When it came time to writing the book, we had a few goals:

• it was absolutely not going to be reprinting of any content that already appeared online.
  


• it would be longer pieces and fun ideas that we really couldn't produce within the limitations and confines of a blog. So we had ideas from illustrations to games to Choose Your Own Man-Titty.
  


• it would be part analysis, part fun, part goofy, and all awesome. Or as awesome as we could make it, anyway.

I started out by drafting an outline of things we wanted to touch on in each chapter, and we divided that up and added or subtracted as necessary. Ultimately we emailed chapters back and forth, editing and resubmitting to each other until we had a workable manuscript.

That was about 18,000 words over the limit.

Oops.

So we edited—same process. The thing about working with Candy that I like best is, well, two pronged. A hemipene of positivity, if you will. First, from the start of the website to the formation of Beyond Heaving Bosoms, our goal was partly to crack each other up. Few people make me laugh as hard as Candy, and few people impress me more with their creative ease and twisting subversion of language. Second, we are each other's best editors. She's very, very good at taking content wherein I am way too long winded and cutting out the unnecessary parts.

The best part of writing the book, however, was how enthusiastic folks were when I contacted them for interviews. By the time we had the complete manuscript with all the edits, I realized that in a unique way, Beyond Heaving Bosoms spans sub-genres and publishing houses and unites authors and readers (two traits that are often conveniently housed in the same person) with one common message: that romance is wonderful, sometimes hilarious, and absolutely ought to be taken seriously. I think that because we were clearly writing an affectionate guide to the genre, the people we contacted for interviews were receptive and very generous with their time (thank you!).

I had email interviews and phone conversations with authors whose books I've adored, and publishers who I've only seen on panels at conferences or seen mentioned in the acknowledgments of a book, and all of them said, "I'm so glad you are doing this." To be honest, their enthusiasm made the writing part so much easier, and also so much more intimidating, because I then had to do justice to their faith that we could adequately represent the entire genre and what makes it wild, wooly, and wonderful. No pressure, or anything.

The one person who wouldn't return my calls or email messages? Fabio.

John DeSalvo, on the other hand, was a marvelous interview subject and I learned about the entire process of creating a romance cover from him, and artist Jon Paul.

The reactions of the people we contacted while writing Beyond Heaving Bosoms was probably the first and greatest indication that our approach to the genre and our affectionate examination of it from the best of the best to the mullety of the mullets, might be received by an equally eager and enthusiastic audience. So far, our reader mail, reviews, and the reactions from people at our book signings have been tremendous confirmation of what we suspected all along: that smart, savvy people love romance novels, and love nothing more than finding fellow romance lovers who recognize honestly the diverse power of romance novels. We're pleased and proud to be among the smart women and men who read romance.

***
By day Sarah Wendell is mild mannered and heavily caffeinated. By evening she dons her cranky costume, consumes yet more caffeine, and becomes Smart Bitch Sarah of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/

The site specializes in reviewing romance novels, examining the history and future of the genre, and bemoaning the enormous prevalence of bodacious pectorals adorning male cover models. In April 2009, Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels was born, published by Touchstone Fireside and co-authored by Sarah and her partner in nefarious deeds, Candy Tan.

Sarah has spoken at Romance Writers of America’s national conference, at the Romantic Times BookLovers’ Convention, and at several RWA chapter conferences and meetings. Sarah was invited to speak as part of the closing plenary panel at the first academic conference devoted to the romance genre, Love as the Practice of Freedom, at Princeton University in April 2009. Her writing has appeared in Narrative Magazine, Tango Magazine, and in the SmartPop book Grey’s Anatomy 101: Seattle Grace, Unauthorized. Sarah has appeared on The Today Show, the Canadian Broadcasting Company’s Steven and Chris Show, and on Too Many Books. Sarah has been quoted in The New York Times, The New York Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, The Los Angeles Times Book Blog, Metro:New York, and Publishers Weekly.

Picture of John DeSalvo is published here with John's permission. Thank you John, :-)

"BOLDNESS HAS MAGIC IN IT"

Pat Bertram, author or A Spark of Heavenly Fire and More Deaths Than One, is my guest Over Coffee today. Not only is Pat a wonderful storyteller, but also she is also very savvy when it comes to promotion and in particular, online promotion. What’s amazing to me is the fact Pat never had Internet until just about two years ago. She had to learn everything from scratch.

Pat is currently the administrator of several groups on Facebook and Goodreads as well as being the author of two popular blogs, Book Marketing Floozy,
http://marketingfloozy.wordpress.com/ and Bertram’s Blog http://ptbertram.wordpress.com/. There is a wealth of information in the archives of Book Marketing Floozy regarding about every aspect of promotion. I would highly recommend purusing the archives.

Pat discusses the power of boldness when doing online promotion and how to use the social networks to promote both yourself and your books. She also shares some of her magical moments with us.




Writing a book was hard. Editing it was harder, and finding a publisher even harder. Waiting for it to be released after acceptance was murderous, and now promoting the book is . . .

Ha! Bet you thought I was going to say it was hardest of all -- most authors find promoting to be an arduous task, but not me. I enjoy it. What’s not to like? I get to meet wonderful people and have wonderful conversations. I get to write articles about anything I want and post them all over the internet. I get to . . . well, those two points are enough. Or should be. My books are still so new that they haven’t developed momentum, but I do believe that social networking is an incredible tool for book promotion.

Goethe wrote, “What you can do, or dream you can, begin it; boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” So, gather a bit of boldness and begin. Join sites like Facebook and Goodreads. Add friends. Take the time to get to know people by commenting on your new friends’ content, by sharing with links to some of your new friend's articles and content. And bit by bit the magic happens.

Let me share some of the magic that has happened to me.

I had the honor of hosting Michael Palmer’s very first guest appearance on a blog. How magical is that?

I had the privilege of meeting Bruce DeSilva, the writing coach for Associated Press, who introduced me (virtually speaking) to his wonderful wife, the poet Patricia Smith. Or is it his wife, the wonderful poet Patricia Smith? Either way, a remarkable experience.

I managed to impress award-winning ad exec Marshall Karp with the way I promoted his stop at Bertram’s Blog during his blog tour. Still don’t know how I did that. I just thought I was having fun.

Through one of my Facebook discussion groups, I met Rita Schiano, who is going to interview me live on her blogtalkradio show, Talk to Me…Conversations with Creative, Unconventional People, on June 16, 2009 at 8:30pm ET. Being a bit nervous, since I have not spoken before a group of people in decades, I posted articles asking for advice on both Gather and Facebook, and I received the most wonderful tips and suggestions. So if I screw up, it’s my own fault. (One bit of advice I got is to not talk longer than 2 minutes at a time, but it’s probably the one suggestion I won’t be able to follow. I do tend to rhapsodize about social networking. As if you haven’t figured out already.)

Am I bragging? Maybe, but the truth is, I am honored to have met these people and to have shared a moment of their lives. But it would never have happened if I hadn’t created a presence on Facebook and various other social networking sites.

The key to social networking is to be social. Spamming people with mass emails is not social. Nor is setting up a profile and expecting it to run itself. You need to add friends and take time to get to know them. Update your status frequently and include interesting links so your new friends seek you out. Reward those who post great content by leaving a comment or participating in their discussions. You need to take an interest in them. It’s up to you. You can treat book promotion as an arduous task, or you can be bold, give a bit of yourself, and perhaps create magic.

What are some of the magical moments you’ve had using social networks? What tips would you share with others?
***

Pat Bertram is a native of Colorado and a lifelong resident. When the traditional publishers stopped publishing her favorite type of book -- character and story driven novels that can't easily be slotted into a genre -- she decided to write her own.


Pat's books are available for order through the Second Wind Website http://www.secondwindpublishing.com/in ebook and paperback forms. Paperbacks are also available from Amazon and in Kindle format as well.

Ravenous Romance: The Importance Of Writing Environment

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