Author Archives: MaryShafer
Characterization – Oh, the things it makes me think about…
For quite some time now, I’ve been putting off working on a novel – Lonely Cottage Road – that I really, really want to be writing. There always seems to be something more immediately pressing, most pointedly making a living. But these days, snippets of dialogue between my characters comes to me unbidden, and I [...]
The Art of Storytelling – Thanks, Ira Glass.
Okay, let’s get away from the crass promotion aspect of being an author for a bit. It’s necessary, but let’s face it: NOT why most of us got into this line of work. Why most of us DID get into it was to have a way to tell stories. Stories that run around in our [...]
A truly perfect author website
Today I ran across an author website that I think is just excellent, and want to share it with you. Author Jenna Blum has created a compact little site that’s not minimalist but in no way cluttered; full of personality, yet confidently understated. And that seems to be the perfect showcase for her two novels, [...]
Creative Book Promotion to Schools, Part 3 – Meeting Curriculum Standards
One of the most effective ways to promote your books to schools is to develop teaching units that can be integrated easily into existing curricula. Remember: As with most forms of free publicity, schools aren’t interested in promoting your book to students and their parents. They ARE interested in what valuable content/substance you can add [...]
Doing Good Research
In between the Promoting to Schools post series, I just had to share a fantastic blog post from my friend and writing colleague, Jonathan Maberry. Jonathan is a prolific author, and one of the most successful horror writers working today. He’s a very personable and approachable guy, as well, and we’ve sat together at more [...]
Book Promotion To Schools – Part 2: Finding the Decisionmakers
Finding the right decisionmakers is key to getting your book into school classrooms. You can and absolutely should approach teachers directly with your ideas, because they are going to be your strongest advocate if they believe in the power of your book to help them teach kids. But it’s fairly uncommon for teachers to have the discretion to simply adopt your book as a classroom teaching aid without first running it past at least some kind of content approval committee, if not the school board.
Creative Book Promotion to Schools, Part 1 – It’s Not Just About Textbooks
Regardless whether you’ve written fiction or nonfiction, there are likely several ways you can effectively promote your book to schools and schoolchildren of appropriate ages. This series will explore things you can do to make your book promotable to them, including how to get in front of the eyes of teachers and others who buy books for classroom use.
Author Book Promotion: It was never really optional.
If we assume a similar level of well-chosen topic and quality, appealing writing, the difference between a successful author and one who’s struggling is the difference in their attitudes about and efforts toward promoting their work.
The Secret’s in the Sauce: Voice matters.
I will likely never read Anthony Bourdain’s foodie or travel books. But he’s got a novel out and a nonfiction docu-drama about Typhoid Mary. I may just have to pick those up, because ego or not (and let’s face it — what author doesn’t have one?), this guy is a refreshing, entertaining and accomplished writer whose voice another writer could learn a lot from.
Yeah, What Janet Said: 10 Really Good Rules
Just had to share this post from Janet Fitch’s “Jacket Copy” author blog for the Los Angeles Times. Janet wrote “White Oleander” and other bestsellers, and teaches writing at USC, so she knows of which she speaks. Here, she gives her version of Ten Rules That Can Help Any Writer. I know I learned something, [...]
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