The Writer's Website Archives - Jeanne Burrows-Johnson's Word Empowering Blog

AUTHOR TIME MANAGEMENT

Successful Time Management with a Simple Matrix!

As I wrote the blog that will first appear on Hometown Reads beginning on November 5, 2019, I realized the irregularity with which I’ve been writing for this site. Setting aside the publication of Murders of Conveyance, the third Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian Mystery and two bouts of flu, scheduling my time has been a major challenge to my productivity this year…Thus, time management has been on my mind.

SUCCESSFUL SCHEDULING
Every professional finds challenges in maximizing productivity. Often the problem exists in both personal and professional living. That has certainly been true for me. The Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian Mystery series is growing, and I maintain two websites, this blog, and two Facebook pages. These ongoing projects are my excuse for untimely scheduling this year. It has seemed that there are several deadlines I have faced each day and while I’m putting out those fires, I’ve failed to follow a simple time management matrix.

STEPHEN R. COVEY & DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

One of the most important philosophers in my life has been author and business consultant Stephen Covey [1932-2012]. He was a dynamic man who based his secular advice on his personal faith in the precepts of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His doctoral dissertation was based on analysis of self-help books which he would add to later for the benefit of people of many professions and philosophies. For many of his readers, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was his most impactful book, which helps to move one from dependence to independence to interdependence. I found the most memorable advice he presented was the Eisenhower Matrix, a decision-making tool for prioritizing one’s activity, which he attributed to U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. [Note, the President credited the concept to an unnamed college president.]

EXAMINING YOUR INBOX
Consider the following classifications for the items in your existing calendar and inbox:

A. URGENT, IMPORTANT B. NOT URGENT, IMPORTANT
C. URGENT, NOT IMPORTANT D. NOT URGENT OR IMPORTANT

Obviously that which is Urgent and Important must be addressed first. This could be the biographical paragraph your publisher has requested for your latest book or a cover letter that you will package with gift copies. Conversely, items that are not Urgent or Important [Quadrant D] should be examined for worthiness; do they even merit being on your schedule? If they are indeed things worth keeping, can you handle them in a more effective way?

For instance, maintaining good relations with colleagues and service suppliers can be vital to your success. But rather than having frequent personal meetings, consider scheduling occasional festive events that include several of these people…or if they are not in close proximity to you, consider meaningful gifting at unexpected times. For instance, rather than sending cards and gifts for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Christmas, consider Thanksgiving, New Year, or even an unexpected surprise at Asian Lunar New Year. As to gifts, consider whether there is something distinctive about your work that would be appropriate. In both fiction and non-fiction, the focus of most of my writing is Hawai’i, so it has been easy to share Hawaiian macadamia nut candy.

Once you’ve dealt with Quadrant A’s Urgent and Important items and the elimination or redirection of the Non-urgent and Unimportant things lingering in Quadrant D, look at the Non-urgent but Important listings in Quadrant C. You have declared them to be urgent; but, they are not important in the abstract. This area of concern includes spur-of-the-moment issues that arise, as well as administrative paperwork and organization.

For me, activity in this area usually focuses on filing—especially the growing number of my biographies. These are written in both first and third person, ranging from two sentences to a couple of pages. Generic ones have a conversational tone and discuss my life in general. Others focus on my fiction [especially the Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian Mysteries]. Academic ones present non-fiction projects like Conversations with Auntie Carol, A Series of Hawaiian Oral History Interviews. Organized by word count, I can quickly determine bios that meet the requirements of an unexpected request. Usually, I then copy/paste contenders into a new document and create a new bio or two that can be folded into the master file.

We have now arrived at the all-important consideration of items within our Quadrant B. Why take it out of order? As Stephen Covey would say, this area of concern should be the essential focus of our attention in setting our daily, weekly, monthly, and overall life schedule. If we constantly work on the non-Urgent but Important areas of our professional and personal life, we will find there are less deadlines to be faced…and eventually experience balanced living. Of course, that does not mean that unexpected emergencies will not occur to encroach on our time periodically.

In preparing for expansion of my career as an author, I’ve faced many issues this year. They have included: redesigning my two websites, learning to insert art and audio files into this blog, creating a professional Facebook page, and completing both Yen for Murder (the fourth NS mystery) and writing an annotated introduction to the Auntie C project [including 74 endnotes]. The overlapping of these projects has been daunting at times, BUT the time spent on future editing should be manageable!

ALIGNING YOUR CALENDAR
Let’s complete our time management exercise by re-examining the contents of our daily, weekly, and monthly calendars from this new perspective. You may have pre-set appointments like children’s schooling and other activities, your own working hours, wellness appointments, etc. Even the scheduling of these could be altered or made flexible.

Are there other parents with whom you might share transportation? Would your employer consider changes in your schedule like a reduction or shift to earlier/later hours, or even remote work from your home? Can you shift medical, dental and therapy/exercise appointments to days of the week or month to harmoniously fill out set blocks of time? Within those preset appointments, you could double your productivity as I do in performing a bit of library research prior to meetings of my authors salon.

How might you delegate some of the work you now undertake personally? Should you hire an accountant for bookkeeping and tax filing? If this is not an option, consider software that can optimize the hours you do invest in this activity. I am fortunate that many obligations I once undertook have passed to my husband who is retired. He now handles shopping, bill paying, and even the preparation of most dinners, allowing me to pursue completion of inspiration in my work.

Like my protagonist, Natalie Seachrist, I am an avid devotee of list making. When I look at items falling within Quadrant B, I have found that several lend themselves to specific times of the year, when other required and/or predictable activity lessens. That usually means there are gaps in my schedule during the winter holiday season and summer, when many people I work with professionally are on vacation. These are the times that I clean out hardcopy folders, sort through old research, rearrange and re-label files. Well, this summer has passed without any of those tasks being addressed…so, I guess you know how my holidays will be spent!

Wishing you the best in your creative endeavors,
Jeanne Burrows-Johnson, author, consultant, and motivational speaker

To learn more about the award-winning Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian Mysteries, including Murders of Conveyance [Winner, Fiction Adventure-Drama, 2019 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards] and other projects, please drop in at my author’s website JeanneBurrows-Johnson.com . You’ll even find Island Recipes that might inspire your culinary creativity.

For more ideas to strengthen your Wordpower^© and branding, please visit: Imaginings Wordpower and Design Consultation.

Follow Me:
Amazon, Arizona Authors Association, Apple Books
Audible, Authors Den, Barnes and Noble, Blogarama, Book Bub
Cozy Mysteries-Unlimited, Facebook, Good Reads, Hometown Reads

Book sellers may contact book distributors such as:
Baker & Taylor, Follett, IPG, Ingram, Mackin, Midpoint, TitleWave

Travel…Book Award Nominations

MURDER ON MOKULUA DRIVE NOMINATED FINALIST!

I’m pleased to announce that on September 7, 2018, my third blog on the benefits of PUBLIC SPEAKING will be featured on the website of Hometown Reads, while I’m visiting my own hometown of Portland, Oregon. Once I’m home, the original, longer version of the piece will appear right here!

While I’m in Portland, I’ll be addressing a combined meeting of mystery book clubs, plus students at Woodrow Wilson High School, from which I graduated 50 years ago! I can’t believe five decades have passed since I was fortunate to attend the accelerated classes in English and Social Studies that inspired later studies as well as my writing.

I’m honored to announce that Murder on Mokulua Drive [the second book in the Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian mystery series] has been nominated as one of six finalists in the fiction category of the 2018 Arizona Literary Excellence Awards!

Thank you so much for your interest in the series and my other projects! And, don’t forget to drop in at my author website, where you’ll find some delightful recipes for your next adventure in sampling Island cuisine…

Wishing you the best in your creative endeavors,
Jeanne Burrows-Johnson, author, consultant, and motivational speaker

For more ideas to strengthen your Wordpower^© and branding, please visit: Imaginings Wordpower and Design Consultation.

Follow Me:
Amazon, Arizona Authors Association, Apple Books
Audible, Authors Den, Barnes and Noble, Blogarama, Book Bub
Cozy Mysteries-Unlimited, Facebook, Good Reads, Hometown Reads

Book sellers may contact book distributors such as:
Baker & Taylor, Follett, IPG, Ingram, Mackin, Midpoint, TitleWave

PUBLIC SPEAKING, 1

PUT SOME ZING IN YOUR PUBLIC Appearances!

Today, I am using the phrase “Public speaking” to cover several means of communicating orally. First there are traditional public addresses, usually delivered from a podium. The Internet, radio, television, video, and other methods for presenting your image and words can also be included within this classification. Within a broader context, I believe it’s also appropriate to consider audio books and interviews.

In my blog on Author Appearances , I summarized some of the necessary preparation for successful public readings of an author’s work. My comments encompassed a few basics for evaluating, seeking, scheduling, and marketing potential engagements. I also skimmed over aspects for preparing yourself visually and vocally.

Today’s blog offers suggestions for preparing materials you’ll need prior to and during speaking engagements as an author. Some of these items may be useful in garnering opportunities for public addresses; others for shaping a rapidly-arranged display; and, some for quick reference during Question and Answer moments. All of them will be subject to constant redesign, as pertinent text and images evolve over your writing career.

Aside from the free-flow of dialogues with interviewers, you should be able to control most aspects of oral presentations—with the understanding that the mechanism by which your words are captured and projected can affect the tone and quality of your voice…

PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS
There are several support items you should have available for general marketing, as well as for your public appearances and speaking engagements. Some of these may be appropriate to share with the event organizers in advance of your talk. Depending on the venue, you may be able to set up a display, which I will discuss in Part III of this series, Public Speaking to Enhance Branding, to be featured on Hometown Reads in September, 2018.

~ Business Cards. Consider double-sided, or even folded cards, to promote multiple facets of your work. As the author of the Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian mysteries, I now utilize a folding card that allows me to mention my authorship and marketing consultancy on the outer sides, and two published books on the inside.

~ Biographies. To meet a variety of needs, the length may range from a sentence to multiple pages. See a discussion of the need for biographies at imaginingswordpower.com/bios-to-empower-you.html.

~ Résumés. Having résumés of varying lengths and types (sometimes on letterhead stationery) is useful. As I periodically provide marketing advice to executives and their organizations, I have résumés that address that aspect of my work, as well as another offering information on my authorship. Go to imaginingswordpower.com/resume—career-tips.html to view résumé and career tips.

~ Handouts. Depending on your audience, these may range from key talking points to reference data.

~ Fliers and Sales Sheets. These should feature specific books and other products you wish to promote. At this time, I am utilizing a double-sided flier. It features Prospect for Murder and Murder on Mokulua Drive. I also have one describing Conversations with Auntie Carol, an oral history project planned for publication as both an audio and print book.

~ Media Releases. I use a format highlighting the Ws of journalism–Who, What, When, and Where. View samples for both print and broadcast media outlets at imaginingswordpower.com/media-release-samples.html.

~ Photographs. Large and small, some should show you holding one of your books.

~ Posters and Banners. These can range from you and your current work to previous events.

TO SCRIPT OR NOT TO SCRIPT YOUR DELIVERY…
With regard to your actual presentation, let’s consider the text of your talk. Do you require a formally written speech in order to provide an effective performance? Before you answer, consider the environment in which you’ll be speaking and your audience, as well as your strengths and weaknesses as a speaker. Personally, I find that while I may wish to use a scripted opening and closing, I like to refer to a detailed outline during most of my talk. In addition, I prepare a list of key points and facts to reference during Question and Answer sessions.

I carefully prepare all text that must be read accurately. Knowing that electronic devices can fail during a performance, I always carry hardcopy of the material I will present. And, while some speakers choose to read directly from published materials, or manuscripts, I employ the following guidelines to maximize the flow of the reading from scripted text:

~ To minimize the number of pages, I use 1.5-line spacing and half-inch margins on 8.5 x 11-inch paper.

~ To maximize readability, I utilize 14-point fonts, with Underscore, Bold and All caps as needed, with Seraphed Fonts for general text [unless you have a vision problem] and Non-Seraphed for titles.

~ To enhance the flow of your reading, end pages with the completion of paragraphs and quotes.

~ Present character voices in colorized text. To facilitate pronunciation of regional accents and foreign words, insert ellipses, commas, hyphens between syllables, and/or other marks. For the Southern accented voice of Lieutenant John Dias in Prospect for Murder, I modified the text from which I read:

Book: Ariel will be coming to the apartment tomorrow.
Script: Ahr-iell will be com-n’ to the ap-ahrt-ment tom-mar-ah.

ORGANIZING SCRIPTED PAGES
If you are using a script for a public appearance, you will need to organize it for easy reference.

~ Insert single pages of your text in low-glare archival sleeves. This actually kills the rustling of paper.

~ Put sleeves within a solid colored three-ring binder. The front can feature one of your book jackets.

~ Position each sleeve uniformly on either the right or the left-hand side of the folder. This will minimize the movement of your head while turning pages. This will be less distracting to your audience and minimize variations in the sound quality at a podium microphone.

~ Place clearly labeled dividers between sections. This will facilitate spur-of-the-moment shifts you may wish to make during your presentation and Q&A follow-up.

~ Convert softcover editions of your books to spiral binding for quick reference and reading in less formal settings. You can insert sticky notes or other markers for passages you wish to access.

In my next blog, we’ll consider aspects of space and equipment during your public appearance…

Wishing you the best in your creative endeavors,
Jeanne Burrows-Johnson, author, consultant, and motivational speaker

Suggestions for Dynamic Public Appearances are available in these blog posts:
Author Appearances, December 2015
Promo Materials for Public Speaking, July 2018
All the World’s a Stage, August 2018
Final Preparations for Public Speaking, September 2018

For more ideas to strengthen your Wordpower^© and branding, please visit: Imaginings Wordpower and Design Consultation.

Follow Me:
Amazon, Arizona Authors Association, Apple Books
Audible, Authors Den, Barnes and Noble, Blogarama, Book Bub
Cozy Mysteries-Unlimited, Facebook, Good Reads, Hometown Reads

Book sellers may contact book distributors such as:
Baker & Taylor, Follett, IPG, Ingram, Mackin, Midpoint, TitleWave

MEA CULPA

WHAT DO YOU REGRET IN PAST OR PRESENT WORK?

Your book series is doing well! This truly is an accomplishment to cherish! What must you do to ensure your writing career continues on an upward trajectory? Regardless of whether you have a publisher or self-publish, there are problems that can arise during the complex process of production. Some we must live with and bypass with minimal discomfort. Others we can take steps to remedy in order to bring greater harmony to past as well as present tasks…

PUBLISHING ERRORS
I’ve previously discussed issues an author faces in publishing a series—regardless of genre. Fortunately, the process of publication is seldom the responsibility of a single person. Of course, as the author, the quality of the final product reflects on you—for it is you who will be facing the public.

As a reader, as well as an author, I have not heard of a book that arrives in a reader’s lap without flaws of one type or another. They may be barely perceptible, and actually may be a matter of choice rather than outright error.

DISCOVERING FLAWS
The process of finding errors can be simple or complicated. In writing a series, you probably have a written or mental list of flaws you’re prone to make. As I awaited publication of Murders of Conveyance [Winner for Fiction Adventure-Drama in the 2019 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards] and the publishing of Yen for Murder, I’ve found that the following errors appear frequently:

~ Repeated Words and Phrases
My favorites, myriad and R & R.

~ Overuse of Prepositional Phrases
Mine frequent the beginning of sentences.

~ Complicated Action
I’ve found scenes in which a character would need three hands to accomplish what I’ve described. I’ve also struggled to explain how hidden compartments are accessed…

~ Character Flaws
Misspellings of names, and their pronunciation in audio books can easily occur, and did in the audio edition of Prospect for Murder. Titles of officials and their organizations can be misstated or may change over time. Evidently my love of British police procedurals produced my mixing of the word detective with the ranks of police officers. In actuality, most police forces in the U.S. [including Hawai`i], do not do that. A sergeant with the Honolulu Police Department who becomes a detective is simply referred to as detective, with higher ranking officers being referred to by their rank.

~ Major Errors
You might think that writing fiction means that few errors unrelated to grammar will materialize. But issues of consistency still need to be addressed. My own inconsistencies have included changing the floor on which protagonist Natalie has a condo and the color of the truck of her boyfriend and detecting partner Keoni. While regretting even these minor mistakes, at least they do not interfere with the reader’s ability to follow the story. I’m not sure the same can be said for the two lines of crossed-through text in Murder on Mokulua Drive.

One thing that cannot be ignored or casually dismissed is the erroneous reporting of a historical fact. I was particularly embarrassed to discover that in copying and pasting text in the Glossary of Prospect for Murder, I mistakenly dropped a sentence relating to Hawaiian Princess Ka`iulani into the description of Queen Kapi`olani. This is an obvious mistake to readers who are familiar with the lineage of Hawaiian royals and a serious detraction from my desire to share Hawaiian history with a global readership.

VARIATIONS…NOT ERRORS
As a series unfolds, it is to be expected that improvements in writing style and changes in book layout may occur. This doesn’t mean that earlier editions of books are necessarily flawed. Happily, my publisher opted to offer embossing on the vibrant cover of Murder on Mokulua Drive. And, as I like reference material to be readily accessible, we are enlarging the font that introduces Glossary sections. Similarly, we are inserting spaces before and after the hyphens between author birth and death dates in chapter aphorisms.

WHOSE FAULT?
In truth, no matter how much effort [and sometimes treasure] you invest in maintaining the quality of your work, unexpected flaws can emerge. They can arise from both overt errors, as well as from actions you failed to take. Most of my errors come from copying and pasting text and repeating favorite words. Unless one closely and repeatedly reads the edited text, words may end up out of sequence, or can be wholly missing.

MAKING CORRECTIONS
Having determined the cause of a problem, you face correcting it. This can be fairly easy with the publication of a digital book, and other on-line pieces…That is, if you are capable of altering the text within the template that generated it. If you cannot do so yourself, you may have to return to the typographical artist who originally laid out the book. If you are not able to reconnect with them, you will have to find a new source of help. Fortunately, my publisher is working to correct the MOMD Ebook error regarding Queen Kapi`olani.

Matters are more complex in correcting flaws in printed editions. Unfortunately, the error regarding the Queen can only be corrected when further batches of the books are printed. I wish I could send out errata labels to everyone who has a copy of the book…The one thing I have done is to publish a message of Mea Culpa on Facebook!

AVOIDING REPETITIOIN OF THE CRIME
Once you’ve pinpointed the sources of flaws, you can seek appropriate ways to dodge their recurrence. This challenge is exacerbated in the production of a series. To keep my projects separate but harmonious, I’ve prepared and continually update detailed reference notes listing aspects of appearance, voice, attire, movement and behavior. I also have spreadsheets that pinpoint chapter elements [such as when Natalie has which vision] and the family trees of major characters.

I’m glad that most of my readers enjoy references to daily life in the Hawaiian Islands—especially food. There are, however, some who would prefer little discussion of food, beverages, relationships, history and cats. At this point, I don’t foresee removing these elements from my tales—nor would I detract from plot lines by inserting actual recipes. However, recipes that reflect Natalie’s life, local restaurants and menu items one might expect at an Island gathering, do appear on my author website. This has necessitated my keeping records of the food and beverages I write about for review during the writing of each book.

Fortunately, while outright flaws need to be addressed, developments in an author’s style of writing and the presentation of their work can be things of beauty!

Wishing you the best in your creative endeavors,
Jeanne Burrows-Johnson, author, consultant, and motivational speaker

For more ideas to strengthen your Wordpower^© and branding, please visit: Imaginings Wordpower and Design Consultation.

Follow Me:
Amazon, Arizona Authors Association, Apple Books
Audible, Authors Den, Barnes and Noble, Blogarama, Book Bub
Cozy Mysteries-Unlimited, Facebook, Good Reads, Hometown Reads

Book sellers may contact book distributors such as:
Baker & Taylor, Follett, IPG, Ingram, Mackin, Midpoint, TitleWave

BOOK PROMOTION AND EVOLVING ART

THE NEVER ENDING ART & SCIENCE OF WRITING

As I examine the months since the launch of Prospect For Murder [the first book in the Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian mystery series], I realize I have not posted a blog regarding the never-ending art and science of writing for a long time. I’ve started several, but details of the publishing and promotional processes have interfered with my sharing new author strategies… Since addressing the topic of my artistic vision for the book layout for Prospect For Murder in a previous blog, it has been released in hardcover, downloadable audio and ebook formats, and a 9-CD as well as downloadable audio book. Preparing for the promotion of each version has required re-examination of artwork and descriptive text, as each format varies in size and may appeal to a different target market. successful advertising and branding

EVOLVING BOOK SERIES
Authors may separate their work into categories of writing, publishing, and marketing, but each of these activities should unite under a shared roof of unified branding. And while today’s book marketplace includes many self-publishing authors choosing to offer downloadable rather than printed books, such works must still be accompanied by attractive art and typography to maximize their appeal to the sensory experience of potential readers.

There are many ways to make the appearance of a book pop within the massive listings of any genre. As mentioned in my discussion of art for PFM, I have chosen to use an Island-themed gold frame based on Hawaiian heirloom gold jewelry to distinguish my book and the promotional materials with which I market it.

HARDCOVER BOOKS
Book jacket art for the hardcover edition of PFM was the first design project I undertook. After the evocative gold frame was completed, I realized it could be utilized for the entire mystery series. And, with changes in the metallic color, it will be ideal for other book projects as well. Below is the first version of the book jacket, which was clearly too dark!

ORIGINAL 9-CD AUDIO BOOK ALBUMS
After I completed recording the 9-CD audio book, it was time to modify the book jacket art. For the CD albums, my job was to shorten text describing the book and me, as well as the snippets of reviews. My artist and typographer Yasamine June [you can view samples of her work at www.yasaminejune.com] then adjusted the size and proportion of her original artwork and dropped in my edits.

EBOOK AND AUDIO EDITIONS
The next task was designing website icons for sites offering the downloadable audio and eBook editions. Our goal was to enhance a visitor’s recognition of the products being offered. Therefore we created a conjoined image of the hardcover book jacket and a square edit resembling a CD case. Wherever possible, this paired image is used to signify that Prospect For Murder is available in multiple formats.

I should mention that during this process, I realized that the original art image was too dark. Consequently, I had Yasamine brighten the cover, especially the dragon fountain. Subsequent to these changes, I was thrilled when Prospect for Murder won cover art design in the New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards in 2017.

DESIGNING PROMO MARTERIALS & YOUR WEBSITE

The art of communication is one of the most vital skills a professional in any field can develop to help them in achieving goals and objectives in both their public and private living. The following tools can be refined to maximize messages to colleagues, friends and the general public.

ARTWORK
I use the iconic paired image of the print and audio editions of PFM as artwork for both printed promotional materials and my author website. Without intention, the colors for Prospect For Murder and Imaginings Wordpower were nearly the same, which has greatly simplified my choice in color palette. I am still contemplating where and how I will utilize the gold frame.

TITLING
I have used the Peignot font for my promotional business, Imaginings Wordpower [www.ImaginingsWordpower.com] for many years. Therefore, I chose to use it for the titling of book jackets, my author website, and all promotional materials for the Natalie Seachrist series. This decision is especially appropriate since many of the historical details used in the series predate World War II. The Peignot font is an art déco [or style moderne dating from the 1920s], sans-serif display typeface designed by A. M. Cassandre in 1937 for the Deberny & Peignot Foundry in France. While this font is too stylized for lengthy text, it makes a viable statement for titling and headings.

BUSINESS CARDS
Unexpectedly, I discovered that the standard size of a business card and the dark haunting color of the hardcover and audio book art was not suitable to my new double-sided author business card. To resolve these problems, I created a new image. I did this by overlapping the frame of the hardcover edition with that of the downloadable audio edition. In the lower right-hand corner, I inserted the gold hibiscus found in the corners of the frames. This has proven effective, since the image is always accompanied by text providing my name and the title of the book.

STATIONERY & FORMS
With use of the paired image of the print and audio books, plus the Peignot font, there were few decisions to make in creating my author letterhead stationery. For most purposes, I place the iconic art image in the top left hand corner of the page and all contact information centered at the bottom. This layout works for both letters and business forms [such as invoices].

LOGO NOTECARDS
For many years I’ve used what I call logo notecards to extend invitations, express gratitude, and confirm appointments. For both portrait and landscape layouts, I place a logo in one quadrant of an 8.5 x 11 inch layout, with text positioned diagonally and upside down from the artwork. The printed result is a sheet of paper that can be folded into a 5.5 x 4.5 notecard that will fit an invitation-sized envelope.

POSTCARDS
After discovering that postage was the same for a couple of sizes of postcards, I chose a dimension of 8.5 x 5 inches for my author’s promotional postcard. Beyond displaying recognizable book cover art, this ensures sufficient space for a synopsis and book reviews, plus purchasing options. The art and descriptive text pop against a simple white background, with a high gloss finish on the front side for durability and flat finish on the back, which facilitates use of a pen for personal messages.

Sadly, I discovered a typo after receiving an initial order of the postcards. And having continued to receive positive reviews, I realized I should have printed a small number of the cards initially, to allow for subsequent corrections and additions. As my publisher has declined to reprint book jackets with the latest reviews, I’m glad my second run of postcards allows me to send out books as samples, or for review or sale with up-to-date information.

OTHER PROMOTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

COMMUNICATING THROUGH EMAILS
Every piece of communication you generate is a marketing opportunity. And while you may not use an outgoing email layout paralleling your letterhead stationery, you can strategically position artwork, logos, and other information to draw the recipient’s eye. I put the paired book image and purchasing information in the top left-hand corner of each outgoing email. For the signature section for all outgoing emails, I have added a link to my author website [JeanneBurrows-Johnson.com], my Imaginings Wordpower website [ImaginingsWordpower.com], and this blog [Blog.JeanneBurrows-Johnson.com].

WEBSITES DISPLAYING NEWLY RELEASED BOOKS
As the release date for PFM neared, the number of websites featuring the book increased. Unfortunately, some had received galleys displaying artwork devised as a placeholder for the book jacket art that was to come. Without proper notification, these sites would continue to display the galley image as being representative of the published book. Therefore, I suggest that authors releasing books through publishers or on their own, remain vigilant in cruising the Internet to ensure that the words and images describing them, as well as their work appear as they intend!

In addition, authors need to be aware that many popular websites selling and promoting books do NOT offer an easy means for having books reviewed or even displayed in categorical listings. Most of the time, an author’s work is only visible if the visitor to a site knows the author’s name or book title. I strive to see Prospect For Murder displayed under the following categories for each of its several editions: Hawai`i; Hawaiian mysteries; cozy mysteries; cat mysteries; female authors; female detectives; female sleuths. If you have any tips to help me with this situation, please drop me a note through the contact form on one of my websites…

Wishing you the best in your creative endeavors,
Jeanne Burrows-Johnson, author, consultant, and motivational speaker

Further discussion of art is available at the following blogs:
Authors Design Dilemmas 1, April 2015
Confronted by a Fantasia of Fonts, May 2015
Rainbows of Color, May 2015
Winning Logos & Slogans, October 2015
Quality Book Production, February 2016
Harmonizing Branding Elements, August 2016
Book Promotion and Evolving Art, January 2017
Balancing Text and Space, February 2018
Successful Cover Art, December 2018

For more ideas to strengthen your Wordpower^© and branding, please visit: Imaginings Wordpower and Design Consultation.

Follow Me:
Amazon, Arizona Authors Association, Apple Books
Audible, Authors Den, Barnes and Noble, Blogarama, Book Bub
Cozy Mysteries-Unlimited, Facebook, Good Reads, Hometown Reads

Book sellers may contact book distributors such as:
Baker & Taylor, Follett, IPG, Ingram, Mackin, Midpoint, TitleWave