Monday, October 6, 2008

Write it down.

Do you have a system for recording great book ideas? What about marketing ideas?

I have a system but it needs a bit of refinement. I usually write ideas down in my calendar or planner and use that to keep track of things. I learned tonight when I sat down to write my blogs for the week that this is really not very effective.

See, as writers we need to be readers. We need to keep on top of many things: story craft, marketing and publishing trends just to name a few. I often find that as I read wonderful ideas come in my mind. As I'm reading on story craft I'll have ideas for a book I'm writing or even an idea for a new book.

When I read books, articles and blogs on marketing I think of things to share with all of you.

That happened to me last week as I began to devour a new book on marketing. I suddenly began to have a-ha moments that I wanted to share with you, but they fluttered out of my mind because I didn't write them down. Don't worry, they're not gone forever. I just need to reread all those things.

So what is my marketing lesson for you today? Write it down!!

Get a notebook and have a page for websites with great information that you'd like to read. Have a few other pages where you write the addresses of websites that impress you with their style and layout. Takes notes on what make them appealing to you, the reader, and how you'd like to get that same response from people who visit your website.

Have a section for marketing ideas you think are really. One part should be ideas you've seen people do. A second section should be unique ideas you've come up with.

Be sure that you keep your notebook neat so you can quickly retrieve information. Messy notebooks are about as good as having no notebooks.

And then, implement what you've learned. That is what I am doing by offering my full novel. I have a few subscribers already and I hope to have many subscribers and followers soon. The first chapter will go up in less than two weeks.

I learned this from another author. That person posted a first chapter that so excited me that I couldn't help but gush about their fiction. If you'd like to check out that blog use this link here. Also, if you have a blog or website please spread the word.

I'll see you tomorrow.

Your Coach for the Journey, Tiffany Colter

1 comment:

Tracy Ruckman said...

Great post! When my boys were still in school, I bought notebooks by the case when they put them on sale in August - but then I discovered I was cracking open a new notebook all the time, and then never remembering which notebook had which information.

So now I've created files on my computer. I have a Freelance Writing folder that includes sub-folders for Ideas, and I've even broken those down into categories for magazine articles, novels, non-fiction books, and even speaking topic ideas (even though I'm not yet a speaker.) Each of those folders has one main Word document, and it's just a list.

Simple, easy, organized, and searchable. :-) If I could only get my house that organized!