Saw the trailer this afternoon when I went to see One for the Money. This Means War comes out February 14th!
Literally, how cool!
Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter for a chance to win free books!
Several years ago (okay, it was 2006. Who’s story is this?) I settled on the couch in the living room and turned on the TV. We’d upgraded our cable that summer. So rather than 7 channels (2 local, 2 Spanish, 2 religious…you do the math) we suddenly had a 100. Yeehah! Channel surfing, here I come.
As I flipped through the channels, a field of golden sunflowers flashed on the screen. And then this undulating rainbow of spandex clad guys rode by on a pack of bicycles. It was the Tour de France. And I was hooked.
I originally watched for the scenery. But by the end of July I was hooked on the sport. That’s another post entirely. This one is supposed to be about music!
Flash forward a few years. Another year. Another Tour de France…but it wasn’t. This year the producers had procured the rights to use a certain song as their theme song, so to speak. They played at the end of each broadcast.
Now you’ve heard that scent and memory are closely tied. I think that songs, emotions and memories are tightly woven as well. Case in point. This particular song.
Whenever I hear it I’m taken back to those 23 days where ordinary men became extraordinary. Where things you didn’t think were possible (like riding a bike up an Alp – a dozen times!) is suddenly possible and incredible to watch. Days where you watch a field of a 200 of the world’s most elite athletes dwindle down to 150 broken, tired bodies.
There are the underdogs. The superstars. The sprint finishes that literally have you clinging to the edge of your seat lest you fall into the floor. And in the end, after thousands of kilometers (hey, pro cycling is metric, people), endless crashes and enormous heartache, one man is declared the winner.
And they play that song.
Now, whenever I hear King and Queens by 30 Seconds to Mars, my mood lifts and I feel like anything is possible.
Even climbing an Alp…or say, finishing this book.
Tuesday’s Tip is about engaging your readers. Engagement is the buzz word this week at the Digital Book World Conference & Expo in New York City. If you’re like many authors you’re probably wondering how to measure your engagement with your readers.
One really quick way is to look at your Facebook Page. I don’t mean your profile. I mean the Like/Fan page you created to promote yourself. (Don’t tell me you haven’t done this yet. Shame, shame.)
In the left column under your picture you’ll see how many people “like” your page. Beneath that you’ll see another number. It indicates how many people are “talking about” your page. “Talking about” includes comments on the page, likes, and shares. That’s the easiest way to look at it. The higher the number, the more engagement.
How to you increase that number:
- ask your readers questions
- post covers
- post lines from your WIP
- share photos and content from other peoples’ pages and walls
- most importantly – reply to comments, like your readers’ comments
A few authors that I think do a great job of interacting with their readers are Susan Mallery, Selena Blake and Eloisa James. I’ve included a screenshot of Susan’s FB Page to the right.
There are few places I’ve seen more beautiful than Yosemite. This time-lapse video reminds me that I need to go back. Soon. Be prepared to have your breath taken away…
Yosemite HD from Project Yosemite on Vimeo.
As usual, at least for me, I’m looking for ways to reduce clutter in my life. I don’t know about you, but clutter isn’t just physical. It can be mental…or digital.
So here are my three quick and sure ways to start reducing clutter in your digital life. These are starting off points and would likely serve you well throughout the year.
1. Empty out your inbox.
Depending on how you file your email, consider creating a folder for last year’s mail and file anything from before January 1, 2012 in it. This way you automatically get rid of old email. If you haven’t gone back for an email in 6 months you likely don’t need it. Delete the folder. Or, if it’s important to you to keep records, keep it. But at least those messages aren’t cluttering your inbox. While you’re in there, check out the folders you have currently. Do you use them all? Do you need new ones? Take some time to think through your day to day needs. Do you need a folder for tax documents (Royalty statements, purchases, or expenses?) How about a folder to keep track of your online registrations?
2. Delete yahoogroups you no longer use.
If you own a yahoogroup that you no longer use, delete it. If you’re a member of a group that you’re no longer interested in (a good sign is if you delete every email from the group for more than a month) go ahead and unsubscribe. You could carry this over to Facebook groups and Goodreads groups for that matter. Remember, we’re getting rid of digital clutter. One way to reduce email clutter is to limit the sources of potential email – like groups!
3. Weed through your bookmarks.
Do you have bookmarks saved in your browser? Do you use a thirdparty service like Delicious or StumbleUpon? Scan your list and see if there are any links you can delete.
Remember, reduce digital clutter! This will leave only the most important emails, groups, and bookmarks on your computer which will save you time all year long.
If He Could See Me Now by Rebecca Winters
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Somehow I missed this book the first time around, but thanks to Kindle and Harlequin’s Treasury program, I got a second chance. That’s sort of what this book is about. Second chance friendships, relationships, and first true loves.
I love the romance aspects of this book. Greek hero. Kind heroine who’s the sort of woman you’d want as a friend. The only thing that confused me was the paranormal aspects. The UFOs and the military being after the heroine. It was easy to skim those parts to get back to the romance at hand. What a darling that little Ari is. I can’t wait for Stella and Nikos books.
My DH traditionally sends a little something to his clients around Christmas time as a thank you for doing business with him. As usual, I picked the perfect thing from Harry and David, requested addresses from DH and made the order. Imagine my disappointment when I saw the tracking information telling me that one of the packages hadn’t arrived.
Turns out that DH had given me an old address.
Well last week we contacted H&D to figure out what could be done. I was really hoping we wouldn’t have to buy the whole thing again but yummy snacks are perishable, so…H&D said they’d gotten the goodies back and would send out a new batch to the NEW address ASAP. No charge. No extra shipping.
What a nice thing for them to do. They’ve certainly earned two more customers for life!
—
I’ve been on a customer service kick lately (seems like I need customer service more around the holidays, lol). Here’s my experience with Bell and an unnamed major internet florist.
A while back I mentioned how fabulous the customer support was at Bell. Recently I ordered a flower arrangement from a big internet flower company and the customer support wasn’t so fabulous and it didn’t leave me smiling.
I should say that the two flower shops in my town closed down and I found a really beautiful arrangement online and decided to splurge. The flowers were supposed to arrive on Friday. I worked it out so that I’d be here on Friday (or if I wasn’t, my DH was.)
Friday came and went. My Christmas company arrived. No pretty flowers on my table.
Friday evening I went to the website and completed a request for a follow up via email. That email never arrived.
So on Saturday, I called the company around lunch. As it turns out, the florist didn’t have the container for the flowers so that’s why I hadn’t received them.
This is the point where I’m thinking: are you kidding me?
The customer service rep wasn’t terribly apologetic or contrite. In fact, it seemed rather: business as usual. She did tell me they could have the flowers to me on Monday. Monday being the day after Christmas. The day my company was leaving to go home.
She’d mentioned that there were two florists in the area and one didn’t answer the phone. I asked her who that florist was because, as I mentioned, the florists I knew of had closed down. She told me that was confidential.
At that point I was really thinking: you’ve got to be kidding me.
I kept my temper in check and asked for a refund.
I was terribly disappointed. Mostly, that I didn’t receive the flowers I’d been lusting after for three months but also because the company’s response was rather “blah.” For some reason I expected more. Oh well. No one’s perfect. Live and learn.
My copyeditor sent me the final edits for Tips for Authors earlier this week. I love how thorough she was and I can’t wait to share this book with everyone.
It’s taken a decade to get to this point but I’ve compiled a whole bunch of tips for authors into one easy-to-read book. There’s a little something in there for everyone. New authors. Seasoned authors. And best of all, purchase of the book includes access to an awesome bonus site full of exclusive content.
Release day is December 15th. Be sure to mark it on your calendar. And if you haven’t subscribed to my newsletter yet, please do. I’ll be sending out a reminder on release day.
Tip of the day: Rescue your time
Do you spend a lot of time on the computer? Wonder how much time is spent on productivity vs. games or internet? There’s an application I use to help me stay on top of everything called Rescue Time. You can use it to rescue your time too. Check it out and see where you’re losing valuable hours and minutes.
