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Making it up as I go along

Making it up as I go along

Tag Archives: Promotion

The spaces in between

18 Thursday Feb 2016

Posted by Carol Lovekin in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Ghostbird, Honno, Not Writing, Promotion, Word Birds, Writing

I talk quite a bit about ‘not writing.’ I don’t mean writers block – I’m either writing or I’m not – there is no blockage. I mean the times when for one reason or another, the head is distracted and there is little or nothing to be done about it. In recent weeks, with my focus almost entirely on promotion for Ghostbird, I find my writing time severely curtailed and my poor Sisters (working title – book two) languishing in a kind of creative limbo.

It goes, I am learning, with the territory. Published author friends warned me that once the book deal was signed my word count would suffer. They explained how necessary it was to enjoy myself because this ‘first time’ moment would never come again. What they didn’t fully explain was how much more than mere ‘happy dancing’ would be involved. How I would have so little time to work on my next book.

I am fortunate in that I’m being guided through the promotional minefield by an experienced and astute woman – my publisher’s marketing maven. Were it not for her, I would be floundering. Instead, I’m making progress and learning a lot along the way. In addition to the minutiae and nitty-gritty (and the excitement!) of the whole pitch to publication thing, there are guest posts to write for the blog tour and Q&As to answer. Although I love the creative challenge of this kind of writing, it’s not the same as getting on with my next story.

While I muddle through during the day and attend to business, I’m even more thankful for my crack of dawn mornings. By nature (and in spite of writing a book featuring an owl) I’m a lark. Early mornings suit me; I like the way they have no expectations, only the ones I impose. And I impose nothing. I feed the cat, make a pot of tea and return to my bed and my notebook.

These then are the spaces in between, when my mind is seduced by the sweet word birds singing snippets into the tangles of my bed hair. Pencil sharpened, I cover page after page, comforted by the knowledge that my scribbled words are there, waiting for me.

Stepping Out With Trepidation

07 Thursday Jan 2016

Posted by Carol Lovekin in Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Authors, Blog Tour, Endorsements, Ghostbird, Marketing, Promotion, Reviews

This morning I have mostly been… Running through the list of Things To Do.

Promotion & Marketing of Ghostbird begins in earnest. I knew it was coming, as sure as the fading festive season was destined to disappear down the darkened rabbit hole of last year.

Blog tours beckon. (I’m not even sure how a blog tour operates.) I must set up an author page on Amazon. (That’s half an hour of my life I won’t get back & I still can’t work out how to do it.)

Who might review my book? Write an article about me? And what about Goodreads Giveaways? I know nothing about Goodreads!

Yesterday, two of my loyal cheerleaders gave me a bit of a talking to. (One of them threatened to buy me a trumpet so I could learn how to blow it.) She asked me if I believed in my book & of course, I said I did. Because I do. I’m proud of it. I’m just not very good at shouting it from the treetops & I can’t stand the idea of being seen as some kind of self-promoting diva.

I guess I’ll get used to it. Three amazing authors have endorsed Ghostbird. My publisher believes in it & my wonderful editor loves every word. The extracts I’m posting on Twitter & Facebook meet with approval.

Back to the list then… As my lovely mum used to say, onward & sideways.

My novels

Wild Spinning Girls
Wild Spinning Girls
Snow Sisters
Snow Sisters
Ghostbird
Ghostbird
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