Jan 10, 2017 |
Turning a Bad Review into Good Marketing
by Molly Jo Realy @RealMojo68
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Turning a Bad Review into Good Marketing
Have you experienced a bad review? I say experienced because that’s really what it is, isn’t it? You don’t just read it and move on. Not if it’s about your book. Am I right? A while back, I had such an experience, and was able to use it as a Cinderella moment. Grab yourself a glass of tea while I tell you a story.
First, the set up.
Last summer, I set up one of my Kindle books for a two-day free giveaway. Good marketing, I thought. It would get The Unemployment Cookbook, and my name, into a few more households, and hopefully lead to some better sales down the road.
And then, the conflict.
The plan was working, as more four- and five-star reviews were left on the page. That is, until, well, let’s just say someone forgot to put some honey in their tea that morning. Not only was this particular review negative, it was personally directed at me. By someone who didn’t know me. This troll bashed my recipes, my cookbook, and me without one hint of compassion or understanding.
I tried to let it go. But it kept gnawing at me like a tic on a dog. I wasn’t brave enough to comment on the review and tell the troll how wrong he/she was. How he/she had obviously not read the intro or understood why I wrote the Cookbook to begin with. Nor had he/she bothered to look at my notes for each recipe which allow for the cook to fix it to fit their own family, wallet and taste. No, I didn’t say any of that. I just stewed. (See what I did there?)
And then the resolution.
A few days later, I made a small comment on Facebook. I wasn’t looking for affirmations or kudos. I just wanted to share how words, especially unearned harsh ones, can be a speed bump on our happy road.
After a matter of minutes, my Swarm came to my rescue, unbidden and unbeknownst to me. Hours later when I checked my social media stats, I had emails and Tweets and comments and shares. Good review after good review poured in, contradicting the bad one. Comments and rebuffs countered his/her position. The more the reviews came in, the more I thanked the readers on the Facebook post stream, which boosted visibility of the original post, which created more reviews in my defense.
The happy ending.
At the end of the day, that one bad review led to over ten good reviews, and The Unemployment Cookbook was listed in the Amazon Top 100 Paid Reference Books. Not only that, but because I had waited until the giveaway was over to post anything, the new attention garnered a few unexpected sales.
The takeaway.
You can’t stop people from being, well, people. There’s bound to be one bad apple in the barrel now and then. What you can do is be real. Thank your Swarm for the good reviews, and share with them the bad. Then watch them buzz to back you up. It’s a sweet thing to have a community.
CLICK TO TWEET: Frankly, My Dear . . . : Turning a Bad Review into Good Marketing
With some sweet tea and a spoonful of honey,
~ Happy writing.
Molly Jo
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
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Jan 8, 2017 |
Frankly, on Faith: God Is Always
by Molly Jo Realy @RealMojo68
Frankly, On Faith.
There are a lot of uncertains in the world. A lot of maybe’s, a lot of I-don’t-knows. A lot of wishes, and dreams, and breath-holding.
A lot of negatives, too. Did y’all know you need to be hugged at least seven times a day to stay healthy? And each hug should last at least five seconds long?
One sincere smile counteracts five negative glances.
So think about it: Less than one minute of your entire day is all it takes for your body to register joy, acceptance, and strength.
Less than sixty seconds.
And that’s with everybody hugging you. If you’re the hugger ~ just one out of seven ~ your time commitment is even less.
So why is so hard to think God needs so much more of our time just to show up in our lives? In the time it’s taken you to read this far, He’s already working on whatever it is you need Him to work on.
How do you like them apples?
Here’s an exercise for you this week: Consider the affirmations of God. Not what you want Him to be. Not what others tell you He could do. But what the Bible says, and what He has proven (or is proving) to you.
Make a list. Write it out. Tell it to yourself. Post notes in your day planner, on your mirror, in your car. Remind yourself of who He is.
New and unsteady in your faith? Not sure you can trust Him? Ask Him to show you.
Beat down, exhausted, tired, worn out, and giving up on personal miracles? Tell Him about it. He already knows anyway. The cool thing with God is, He’ll never turn His back on you. Never.
I know. Sometimes it feels like it. But honestly. He won’t.
For me, God is always
- Faithful. He sticks around even when I try to push Him away.
- Unwavering. His promises don’t change just because my emotions do.
- Caring. He clothes the fields and the animals; of course He’ll clothe me, too.
- Here. He promises over and over to never leave nor forsake me. And He hasn’t.
CLICK TO TWEET: Frankly, On Faith: How is God always for you?
With a little sweet tea and a lot of heavenly honey,
~Molly Jo
Frankly, On Faith: God Is Always
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
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Jan 7, 2017 |
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Where is My Creativity?
by Jacqueline Patterson @jacpatterson
From Molly Jo:
I met Jacqueline last year at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. Since then, she’s been highly active in the Firsts in Fiction podcast audience, and on social media. If you follow either of us (more her) on Twitter or Instagram, you’ll see what I mean. She’s my kind of person! Snarky, social, and steady. When asked what three things define our friendship, she responded, “Love of the written word/writing, laughter, and fun ideas/plans. Plus, we both like to cook!” I told her I was just thinking writing, faith and coffee, but I liked her answer better. So now we’re in a bit of competition to see who can come up with a better answer. Typical us. You’ll find us (hopefully) at this year’s BRMCWC, eating chili and keeping the neighbors awake with our caffeine-induced laughter.
Whether you’re a writer, a reader, or family member obligated to read this blog, we know you’re going to love her new monthly column on writing.
~#~
Jacqueline Patterson – Where is My Creativity?
I growled at my laptop screen and [I swear it’s true] the laptop growled back. I had been laboring over my WIP [work in progress] for hours. Literal back-wrenching, misery-inflicting hours.
The characters I once loved were now dead . . . and bordering on stupid. Although [I’m going for complete honesty here] nothing could be more moronic than the storyline itself.
Somewhere in the process, I had lost touch with my creativity, and the story was suffering from my stubborn dedication to a plotline I knew in my heart of hearts was wrong.
I know, I know, we’re writers. We live writing and we breathe writing and there is no such thing as a break. But sometimes [Okay, a collective deep breath here], we need to step away. Give ourselves a chance to view our stories through fresh eyes.
Here are a few self-discoveries I found for reclaiming my creativity.
First of all, step out of your comfort zone.
Yes. You heard me right.
If you’re like me [it’s okay to admit it], there’s nothing scarier than shaking up your routine. You have your specific writing spot, your fixed writing time, your bossy writing quirks or whatever you’re holding on to.
Let it go.
- Shake things up. Is your story dead? Maybe you’ve settled for the wrong protagonist, and your characters are trying to let you know. Play around with POVs [Point of View], names and scenarios. I find when I try this that sometimes a new story is born out of the hodgepodge of ideas and I’m eager to get back to writing again.
- Try a new writing spot. Confession: I fought this for so long. But once I tried it, I found that it sharpened my senses and forced me to concentrate. Now I try a new writing spot every week, even if it’s simply a different seat in the same coffee shop.
- Start something new. Yes, you read that correctly. It’s okay to set your story aside and work on that project that’s been gnawing at the back of your mind. You’ll return to your WIP with fresh energy.
- Go back over your WIP. Is there a chance you mis-stepped and forced a scene that doesn’t belong in your story? Ask yourself if you’ve taken a wrong turn. Often, writer’s block is caused by something as simple as a misplaced sentence, or an unneeded character.
- Seek out what first inspired you to write this story. When did the idea for your WIP originally generate? Rewatch that movie, reread that book, revisit that spot. Reach back into the emotions of discovery. After all, you were the one chosen to write this story.
- Brainstorm with fellow writers. You’ll come away with the creative juices flowing, and a collision of ideas that will drive you back to the laptop.
- Take time to simply relax. You are not a writing robot. You can’t spend your entire life in front of a screen, churning out novels with mindless predictability. Go out and live this thing called life. Explore. Challenge yourself to new adventure.
This is not a game.
This is not a hobby.
This is your story . . . and your gift to the world. Allow yourself a moment to breathe and to find your story again. Step away so that you can return to your writing with open eyes and renewed creativity.
After all, we are creating stories that we hope will last forever.
CLICK TO TWEET: Frankly, My Dear . . . : Where is My Creativity?
Jacqueline Patterson
Jacqueline Patterson wrote her first book at the age of five: the tale of an assassin hen on the trail of a crafty fox. (OK, so the story wasn’t that epic, but the hen was mean.) That first story hooked her, and she hasn’t stopped since. She is currently editing Primate, the first book in her Forever in Time series, in the hope of publication . . . If she can ever convince herself that she’s found the perfect draft. Talk to Jacqueline about books, and she will be your friend forever. You can connect with her on Twitter and Instagram.
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
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