#AtoZChallenge – Page 4 – Jean's Writing

Want to know how to market that kick-ass book?

Published on April 15, 2016April 14, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell17 Comments

Today’s letter in the A-Z Challenge M.

M = Marketing

I had a hard time deciding which word to choose. Writing is filled with lots of M words. Midpoint, a big problem for me and lots of writers. Muse, real or mythical? Major and minor characters. Well, you get the point.

Me too! That’s why I choose the word marketing.

Because I’m terrible at selling. And maybe I’m not the only one who wants to know how to succeed at marketing my books.

We struggle to write a story, novel or in my case a children’s book and then what? Whether the author goes the traditional or self-publish route, marketing is a big issue.

Here’s what I’ve learned this past year about marketing.

Writing a kick ass story does not make the world beat a path to your Amazon page.
Writers need to promote their own books.
Write a good logline and elevator pitch. Be ready to spill it at every opportunity.
Develop an online platform.
Make your book easy to find and easy to buy.
Keep links current.
Write articles that tie your book to current popular interests.
Stay involved in Social Media. I know it’s time-consuming but a must.
Create a press release and submit locally and online.
Submit your book for pre-release reviews.
Have a launch party.
Talk to any and everyone about your book.

Did I do all of this? No. Like I said I’m not very good at this marketing stuff. But I’m trying to get better.

What tips and tricks did you use to market your book?

Did they work?

Are you good at marketing your own work? Or are you like me and struggle tooting your own horn?

Talk to me, the lights on and comments are now open.

You can find me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdelland Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! Please remember to click and share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

Want to know more, click the links below.

20+ Free Press Release Distribution Sites

71 Ways to Promote and Market Your Book by Kimberley Grabas

How to Market a Self-Published Book by Paul Jarvis

How to write less and say more

Published on April 14, 2016April 14, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell18 Comments

Today’s letter in the A-Z Challenge L.

L = LESS

Love Every Single Sentence

or Trash It!

How to write less & say more is not as easy as it sounds.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a talker. It’s been said that I can hold a conversation with a wall. I will admit that I’ve rarely met a person with whom I can’t engage in conversation.

However, one of the things I’ve learned is that my conversation skills don’t necessarily carry over on to the written page. See, how I rambled on and on when a few words would’ve worked just fine? Don’t roll your eyes at me. I’m not the only long-winded writer on the internet.

Now back to LESS.

6 things I’ve learned about Less is More.

I still need to cut more flab in my writing.
Brevity is my friend and Clarity my sister they keep me grounded.
Waste words waste the reader’s time.
Get to the point and quickly.
Big words will not make me sound smart.
Lead with active voice and cut passive.

How close to the bone can you cut before your writing falls apart?

Do you need to write less and say more?

Talk to me, the lights on and comments are now open.

You can find me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdelland Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! Please remember to click and share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

Want to know more, click the links below.

Write Less, Say More: The Power of Brevity by Danny Rubin

Embracing Brevity: How to Write Less and Say More by MUSTAFA KHUNDMIRI

Saying It Short: A ‘Less Is More’ Guide to Effective Writing by Tom Hynes

KISS, And the Writing is Easy

Published on April 13, 2016April 12, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell11 Comments

Today’s letter in the A-Z Challenge K.

kiss-686587_640

K= KISS

Keep It Super Simple

Fooled you didn’t I?

We’ve all heard the acronym KISS but have you thought about applying it to your writing?

“The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid’s burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest manageable part of the big thing, and you work off the resonance.” ~ Richard Price

Here is a challenge.

Take a piece you’ve written and cut every third sentence. Or cut the word count by one-third. Can you do it and keep what is truly important?

“Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make it simple.”~Woody Guthrie

So, just what have y’all taught me this past year about writing short and sweet?

When a reader can’t understand or follow the story, they stop reading. KISS
Life is complicated but good writing doesn’t have to be. KISS
Writing tight and concise produces a better product. KISS
Simple words and simple sentence structures don’t mean stupid. KISS
Knowing your subject is important. Communicating that knowledge to your readers is equally important. KISS
Conveying a message in easy bite-size, succinct, and easily digestible pieces take talent. KISS
Using ten-dollar words can come across as pretentious and lazy. KISS
It takes work to know and write for your audience. KISS
Write small, simple and get to the point. Your readers will thank you. KISS

Do you make writing harder and more complicated than it needs to be?

Have you mastered the knack of KISS in your writing?

Talk to me, the lights on and comments are now open.

You can find me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdelland Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! Please remember to click and share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

Want to know more about KISS? Click the links below.

K.I.S.S. by Rob Parnell

New Book Excerpt: Keep It Simple, But Not Simplistic by ANN HANDLEY

Keep It Super Simple By Kayla Skarbakka

KISS — Keep It Simple, Stupid! How to write about a complex subject in a simple way by Devyani Borade

How to avoid confusing your readers with Jargon

Published on April 12, 2016April 11, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell15 Comments

Today’s letter in the A-Z Challenge J.

J= Jargon

jargon

Last April I did a tiny post about the definition of Jargon. Man oh man, I didn’t realize how much there was to learn about this word. Thanks to all the great writers out there, I’ve learned a lot over the past year.

One of the biggest things I’ve learned is how confused a reader can become when this is overdone.

Recently, I felt this confusion and frustration first hand. Reading a book by a UK author became more of a chore than enjoyment.

Why? Because the book was riddled with words I didn’t understand. This required me to stop and look up the definition so that I could get the gist of what was happening. Had the author reduced some of the jargon or at least added an explanation, I might have stuck with the book.

What I learned about writing with or without using jargon.

The use of jargon can confuse the reader. Use sparingly.
Avoid using pretentious, showy, or fake unintelligible words that read like Gobbledygook.
Slang is typical of a specific area or generation and can change.
Don’t overdo “Cant” words such as humbug, twaddle, hogwash, or rubbish.
- Cant words that are supposed to sound like serious statements about important issues (such as religion or morality) but that are not honest or sincere.
Careful using secret languages known as Argot.
- Argot is a secret language used by twins, criminals, or a dialect such as Patois.
Only use Tech Speak when writing a tech manual.
Unless you are writing about computers avoid Computerese.
- It’s Tech Speak of computer geeks.
Buzzword words come and go. Make sure it’s important.
Don’t fill your story with abbreviations. It will look like Alphabet Soup and the reader won’t understand most of it.
- Alphabet Soup term used figuratively to describe a confusing group of letters (such as abbreviations) used to refer to various organizations, items, etc.
Avoid Inflated, euphemistic, official-sounding language of government—looks like alphabet soup and is known as Bureaucratese.
Even if writing a military thriller, go easy with Pentagonese.
- Not everyone understands military words and phrases.
Avoid the use of words that go to absurd lengths to avoid offending various classes of people. PC.
- Nope, not a computer, PC stands for Politically Correct.

Remember:

Look for better alternatives that can add meaning and persuasive power to your writing. Using words that your reader can understand will create more of an impact than filling a scene with jargon.

What do you think about the use of Jargon?

Should it be avoided completely?

Talk to me, the lights on and comments are now open.

You can find me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdelland Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! Please remember to click and share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.