Occasionally, if the timing was right, there might even be a reading or event at a conference or convention. I’ve always enjoyed the street team experience and I’ve always participated fully.

Being a part of the DIYMFA Street Team, however, has been a masterclass in marketing and promotion. Having worked with Dan Blank a little myself, I can see his influence in Gabriela’s strategy. I can also see where Gabriela has placed her indelible stamp on it as well. Sheer brilliance

Here’s what I learned:

1) Think of a Launch as a Campaign, Not a Single Event

Gabriela’s launch has spanned three months, beginning with the application process for the street team. You read that right: application process. This was clever. It provided Gabriela and the DIYMFA team with information about the members of her street team, strengths and weaknesses, background and interests. It also ensured that the street team was motivated.

This is a problem with street teams. People join with enthusiasm, but that enthusiasm wanes by the time the launch date arrives. If you have enough time and interest to submit yourself to an application process, you’re more likely to stick with the street team. See? Clever.

Of course, life intervenes, and this strategy can’t guarantee every street team member participates either fully, or for the length of the launch campaign, but it certainly improves your odds.

I had my ARC in more than enough time to read and review it. Gabriela created a Facebook group dedicated to the street team. There were weekly questions to blog, periodic Facebook chats, a mini course, and special opportunities for diligent bloggers.

2) Treat Your Street Team Like a Community

This is one of the three main tenets of DIYMFA: community building. Gabriela has served her community for years, first with her blog and newsletter, then with the DIYMFA 101 course, DIYMFA radio (her podcast), and the Word Nerd Facebook group.

The street team was a special subset of the overall DIYMFA community, though, and Gabriela understood that. She made us feel special and to thank her for all the work she’s done over the years, we stepped up.

3) Engage Your Street Team

This is where the weekly questions came in. Though I haven’t experienced the problem myself, I see no end of posts and articles on the topic of providing ideas for blogging. So every week, Gabriela gave us a topic—linked to the content of her book—and a specific question to answer.

I have to admit, I didn’t always do as instructed, but that was okay. The point was to get us engaging with the content of her book and putting it out on the internet. If each of us only had a couple hundred followers, then the word was spread to those couple hundred (times however many of us were on her street team) and the DIYMFA book was on the internet, in front of thousands of people, every week for 14 weeks.

As the old Breck commercial (egad, I’m dating myself) said, “I told two friends, and they’ll tell two friends, and so on, and so on . . .” It’s word of mouth on steroids. Serious marketing chops!

4) Give ‘em the Pickle!

Anyone who’s been in a customer service job should recognize this one. “Give ‘em the pickle!” means to go the extra mile, to thank your customer for offering you their patronage. In Gabriela’s case, she viewed her street team as her customers.

Gabriela did this by creating her free mini-course on Storytelling Superpowers. Yes, this was made available to everyone in the DIYMFA community, and beyond, but the storytelling superpower quiz was the focus of questions of the week four and five, and it’s not too far a stretch to think Gabriela made this course just for us.

Also, Andrée and I, as faithful bloggers and participants in the community were given the choice opportunity to write guest blogs for DIYMFA. How cool is that?

Putting these guest posts up on DIYMFA is a game changer for a blogger and struggling writer. It’s a quantum leap in platform development because Gabriela is sharing her community with us. If even a fraction of her dedicated followers decide to take a look at my website, Writerly Goodness, and if even a fraction of them decide to follow me, I could see a serious bump in engagement.

Brava, Gabriela! Brava! And THANK YOU so much.

5) Play to Your Strengths

Gabriela has the unique ability to take a complex idea and break it down, not just in writing, but into mnemonic acronyms and initialisms, and into diagrams and matrices.

She used her big squishy brain to wrestle this amorphous thing called a street team into manageable chunks, to plan ongoing events to maintain engagement and enthusiasm for the length of the campaign, and offer the members of her street team all carrots and no sticks in the process.

I’m a corporate trainer who’s taken project management and pedagogy courses. I can see and appreciate how Gabriela has designed the DIYMFA street team and campaign as a learning opportunity and a vibrant experience for all her street team members. She’s leveraged us like a true master.

I am not worthy.

Having said all that, I’ve learned so much from being on the DIYMFA street team that I could probably go on. In grand rhetorical style, however, I won’t.

Suffice it to say that I’ve discovered valuable lessons that I hope one day to leverage in the service of my own book launch. It’s going to be different with fiction, but there’s the challenge. And I love a good challenge, which is why the DIYMFA street team experience was perfect for me.

Melanie Marttila creates worlds from whole cloth. Ink alchemist, dream singer, and SFF novelist in progress, she lives with her spouse in Sudbury, Ontario, on the street that bears her family name, in the house in which three generations of her family have lived. Her short fiction has been published in Bastion Science Fiction Magazine and On Spec Magazine.

She blogs at https://www.melaniemarttila.ca

The post #5OnFri: 5 things I’ve Learned By Being on the DIY MFA Street Team appeared first on DIY MFA.

1) Building a Community is Super Beneficial

Okay, so that might not be news, but hear me out. If you were to read about Gabriela, you’d probably say that she has all the requisite credentials to do what she does: she has taught a variety of writing-related courses and programs. She even holds an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) degree. However, instead of resting on her degree and teaching, she gathered all the tips and tricks about becoming a writer and wrote DIY (Do-It-Yourself) MFA. She then put herself to work. The last section of the book is called ‘Build Your Community’ and each chapter is devoted to joining (and creating!) your own pack (I’m a dog lover, so any group becomes a pack. If you prefer a gaggle, league, lot, or batch, feel free to substitute terms). She established a circle of trust with other writers and encouraged us to … write. Our social spaces became a home base where we shared our thoughts and were able to network. All these benefits helped me understand that being a writer is more than putting words to paper or typing.

2) Sharing Your Writing With Random Strangers Is Not As Scary As It Seems

The idea of sharing what I wrote with others was initially very frightening to me. I had sweated each word onto those pages, revised them, and typed them. The first time I posted something online, I think my heartrate was double what it should have been. But then I thought about it: if we want to be writers, do we want people to purchase our books? What do we expect those persons to do with our material? I would hope they would read it. Oh, wait … sharing with strangers. Right.

There are there step-by-step pointers in DIY MFA about working with writing groups and how to handle (and give) critiques. As part of the Street Team, we had weekly prompts to write and share. The experience is very much like being part of a writer’s group, as we popped in to one another’s blogs or writing spaces, read one another’s work, and offered suggestions and support. As the weeks went by, we got to know each other. It was rather easy to become a member of a new pack.

3) Don’t Let Fear Stop You!

When I walked into my first writer’s group, I was intimidated by the fact that our facilitator had her MFA and was developing a manuscript as her thesis, which would be revised and ultimately submitted to an agent or publisher. I mean, who was I? Just some woman, who tried her hand at some short stories and longer pieces – how could I contribute to a class of experts? But I realized that most people in the group were very much like me. The Street Team includes people with different levels of experience and we were able to come together and learn.

4) Supporting Other Writers Makes Your Own Writing Stronger

One perk of being a member of Gabriela’s Street Team is that we were able to brag about her book for a while before it was available. We were able to read it from cover to cover and discuss what we found valuable with the other members of the team. It offered insight into something each of us could do when we have a new release. There is something empowering about being able to have something that not everyone else can have. But such power should always be used for good and not evil: we were encouraged to offer our feedback on the text to Gabriela and to give an honest review as well.

Imagine if you provided an advance copy of your next book to a select group, got their feedback in the process, and also had them review the book when it became public? New readers tend to check reviews, which are difficult to get if no one has your book. Now, think of this: what if there are glaring errors in your book? Would you want to find out after it was on the market?

I have had the pleasure of serving as a review reader for a few new writers and notice that as I offer feedback, I take note of the critiques I give. I then do my best not to have those issues in my own work. The idea of reading and interacting with the works of others is something Gabriela discusses in the DIY MFA book.

5) Active Participation Is Important

One thing that stands out about DIY MFA is that Gabriela gives her readers plenty to do. She includes exercises for practice and steps to follow in every section. For members of the Street Team, she and the great people in her inner circle made sure we had resources, food-for-thought tidbits in between her regular posts, and videos. The variety of ways to engage ensured there was something for everyone.

I am grateful for the opportunity to be involved with the DIY MFA Street Team. It has been a continuous learning and growing experience that I would love to incorporate into a future book launch plan of my own.

Andreé Robinson-Neal got bit by the writing bug in the 1970s and despite a career in education has never been cured of her penchant for speculative fiction. Find her at starvingactivist.com. She writes under the name AR Neal, who will hopefully one day be identified as a famous NaNoWriMo participant.

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These past few weeks, some intrepid writers have been keeping up with the DIY MFA Street Team Questions of the Week. That’s a huge feat, with all of the distractions of summer, not to mention The Book to read, and all the other summer reading to be done! We wanted to give a shout out to a few of the awesome, tenacious writers who have been digging into their writing lives and responding to these questions.

QOTW #9 Do you have a creativity tool that helps feed your creativity? Share it! (Examples from the book include: the ORACLE, the Idea Bank, the Angst Jar. You could also talk about your inner critic, favorite writing prompts, or any other source where you find inspiration.)

We’re starting with Sandra Shattuck again and her post, Jumpstarting Creativity. She gives some great examples of what works for her to keep her well of creativity from running dry.

QOTW #10 The hardest step in your creative development is the “zero moment,” the point where you go from doing nothing to doing something. The distance between the zero moment and being a newbie is far greater than the distance between newbie and pro, yet rarely does anyone celebrate this pivotal, important step. Today, we want you to celebrate. Think back to your zero moment and do something to celebrate that incredible leap of faith.

Laura Highcove talks about her “zero moment” in this post, and how inspiring it is to look back and see how far she’s come since then.

QOTW #11 At DIY MFA, we’re big on archetypes. We’ve talked about protagonist archetypes and supporting character archetypes on the site and podcast. We even created our Storytelling Superpower quiz by understanding what different protagonist archetypes want (and how that want drives the story). What’s your favorite character archetype and why?

Andrée Robinson-Neal takes a spin on this question to talk about supporting characters and why they’re so important in her post on archetypes.

QOTW #12 You don’t need to own every book in the world, but there are some essentials that every writer should have on his or her shelf. These are the ABCs of reading (A = anthology of short-form literature, B = book of prompts, and C = craft reference). What are your essentials?

Rhonda Gilmour shares her favorite books on writing in this post on writing reference essentials. I’ll definitely be adding a few to my shelf! Hop over and compare your reference collection with hers!

QOTW #13 Life is short and you’ll never get around to every book you want. That’s why at DIY MFA we believe in reading with purpose and we break reading down into four basic categories (competitive titles, contextual books, contemporary books, and classics). What’s on your reading list right now?

Dianna Gunn shares what’s on her reading list right now and why in response to this weeks’ question.

QOTW #14 Throughout the book, you’ll find visual techniques and diagrams to help your writing (story-mapping, the revision pyramid, the character compass, etc.) Try out a technique that is new to you and share the results.

Melanie Marttila shares her experience with Gabriela’s TADA technique and what she learned about her own writing by implementing a new technique.

Please take a few minutes to stop in and show some comment-love to these writers. As I said before, there’s nothing that writers love better than to know that someone out there is reading what we’ve written. And stay tuned for more round-ups of great writing from the DIY MFA Street Team.

Elisabeth Kauffman is a freelance editor in California. Her favorite genres are YA fantasy, sci-fi, and romance. She regularly obsesses over board games, Doctor Who, and Harry Potter. Come share your ideas with her on Facebook and Twitter and on the web at www.writingrefinery.com. Also, check out her author website: www.elisabethkauffman.com and her author page on Facebook.

The post DIY MFA Street Team Roundup: Weeks 9-14 appeared first on DIY MFA.

No, the moment I’m talking about is when a reader–a person not related to you by blood or marriage, someone who isn’t obligated to say nice things about your work–actually reads your book… and likes it. That’s the writer’s “holy grail.”

Over the past two and a half months, I’ve had the privilege of leading a fearless street team who read, reviewed, and are now helping spread the word about the DIY MFA book. The term “street team” comes from the music industry, where fans would take to the streets and try to drum up excitement for a band’s new record. I wanted to do something similar for my book but I didn’t just want to hand out virtual galleys and call it a day. I wanted to create an extraordinary experience for these first readers. I knew that if I brought my A-game, my word nerds would respond in kind. And boy, did they ever!

Over the next several months I’ll be sharing glimpses into my street team strategy: what I did, why I did it, and how I put the project into action without losing my mind. But today, I want the focus to be on them. I want to recognize this group of people who have truly gone above and beyond in helping me launch this book.

5 Reasons my Street Team is Amazing:

1) They get down to business.

I knew that this group of writers was extraordinary, but what I didn’t realize at first was just how motivated and dedicated they were. I’ve seen word nerds turn blog posts around in under an hour. Another asked for an “extension” on the book review only to post it–literally–the next day.

Seriously, if these writers can get down to business and blog/tweet/post this passionately about my book, I can only imagine how motivated and driven they will be when it’s time to build buzz around their own books. Each of them is a force to be reckoned with.

2) They support each other.

There is a strong sense of community among the street team crew. Members often visit and comment on each other’s blogs. They connect with each other on social media. Our private Facebook group has become one of my go-to places on social media to hang out, relax, and talk to other writers.

More importantly, though, this group rose far beyond just an online hangout for DIY MFA fans. Fellow street team members are quick to respond to each other’s questions and help each other troubleshoot different aspects of the book review process. For instance, when some folks were struggling with downloading the galley, other street team members were quick to suggest solutions and help each other through the download process. This meant that even though we had 90+ people on the team, I had to field only a handful of tech-related questions.

3) They are super-sharp, creative thinkers.

I’ll be honest: patience is not one of my finer qualities. So, when I find a group of people who “gets” what I’m doing right off the bat, it’s like discovering a rare gem. The Street Team understood what the point of this project was. But they didn’t just follow along; they brought their own ideas to the table.

I set a high bar and I expect excellence from myself and the people who work with me. At the same time, I don’t believe in spoon-feeding solutions or answers to my team. I want them to have an active role in figuring things out alongside me, not just me telling them what to do.

The street team jumped right in and embraced my leadership style. In fact, their energy and creativity challenged me to raise my own bar and do even better work. The result is a book launch that has far exceeded my publisher’s expectations, and my own.

4) They take action.

One thing I keep hearing from the street team again and again is how they’re actually implementing concepts from the book. They aren’t just taking in the information, they’re putting it into action.

At the heart of DIY MFA is the idea that there’s no such thing as a “best practice.” What works for one writer might not work for another, and when you copy-paste someone else’s writing behavior onto your own creative process, all you end up with is a big ol’ mess. I love that these street team-ers are trying the techniques from the book and adapting them to their own styles. This is what DIY MFA is all about. It’s not a prescribed formula or set of steps; it’s a mindset and the word nerds on my street team most definitely have it.

5) They have my back, and for that I am tremendously grateful.

While I am a disruptor at heart, there are times when my protector streak shines through. (Forgive me, but with the Storytelling Superpower video series rolling out this week, I have archetypes on the brain right now.) I’ve always been incredibly protective of my family, my friends, and anyone I’m leading. At one point in high school, I was even dubbed “The Godfather” because no one wanted to mess with me, my friends, or my family. (I don’t understand… I’m such a docile person.)

Seriously, though, I’ve always had a strong impulse to protect people I care about… especially my students. This protective streak extends beyond a traditional classroom to include my online word nerd communities.

For the first time, though, I feel like the tables have turned. As someone who is used to being protective of others, it’s a powerful experience to feel protected. I’m a writer, so I’m supposed to have the words to explain what I’m feeling right now, but honestly I don’t. It’s just that big.

Every writer needs a street team.

There you have it: my ode to the most amazing, talented, inspiring street team ever. Whether you are part of the street team or not, I want to thank you for being part of this community and this journey. Thank you for being brave and putting your words out into the world.

The post #5OnFri: Five Reasons My Street Team is Amazing! appeared first on DIY MFA.

As I said last month, the best part of being part of DIY MFA is the reminder that we all have different backgrounds, but we all have similar themes that bind us into a talented and inspiring community. In that spirit, we’d love it if you shared your answers, too! Leave us a link in the comments if one of these questions inspires you or strikes a chord, and we’ll give you a shout-out next month.

Now, enjoy these four writers and their answers to DIY MFA Street Team Questions of the Week 5-8.

QOTW #5: What’s your writer’s kryptonite? (HINT: It’s usually related to your superpower in some way.) Have you found a way to work around that weakness?

Sandra Shattuck – What is your writing kryptonite?

This week’s question was hard! People don’t like to admit their weaknesses and it showed in the number of responses we had to this question. So here’s a shout-out to Sandra for looking honestly at herself and sharing her weakness.

QOTW #6: Five myths about creativity: (1) Creativity is an exclusive club, and you can’t be part of it. (2) Creativity is innate–you either have it or you don’t. (3) Creativity is driven by chaos, so there’s no way to control it. (4) Creativity is all about getting that one “Big Idea.” (5) Creativity means polishing an idea until it’s perfect. Does one of these myths hit home for you in particular? How so? What have you done to challenge that myth?

Carrie Ann Golden – Creativity Myths

It’s easy to get sucked in by these myths and end up thinking that you’ll never measure up or fit in as a writer and a creative person. Carrie talks about her struggle to let go of creative myths that held her back from giving her creative all to her work.

QOTW #7: There are a lot of people spouting “best practices” about writing. Have you ever tried one of these “best practices”? How did it go?

Michelle Chalkey – How to Find Your Best Practices as a Writer

Michelle does a great job breaking down the reasons why someone else’s best practices might not work for you. She shares four questions you can ask to help you figure out what your best practices are.

QOTW #8 Resistance is the compass that points us to the juicy material, the high-stakes projects that really matter to us. Share an example of a time when resistance acted as your compass.

Leoma Retan – Take a Risk – Reach for your Dreams

Leoma shares her journey to conquering her fear and the steps she’s taking to be able to share her writing with the world. I love this post because it’s a great reminder that people come at this writing thing from all different angles, but that fundamentally we face the same challenges.
Please take a few minutes to stop in and show some comment-love to these writers. As I said before, there’s nothing that writers love better than to know that someone out there is reading what we’ve written. And stay tuned for more round-ups of great writing from the DIY MFA Street Team.

Elisabeth Kauffman is a freelance editor in California. Her favorite genres are YA fantasy, sci-fi, and romance. She regularly obsesses over board games, Doctor Who, and Harry Potter. Come share your ideas with her on Facebook and Twitter and on the web at www.writingrefinery.com. Also, check out her author website: www.elisabethkauffman.com and her author page on Facebook.

The post DIY MFA Street Team Roundup: Weeks 4-8 appeared first on DIY MFA.

The past few weeks I’ve been honored to meet and participate with the DIY MFA Street Team, a group of committed and enthusiastic writers who are helping us get the word out about DIY MFA, The Book. We’ve had Facebook chats and conference calls to talk about writing and publishing. But best of all, we have a Question of the Week emailed to us by Gabriela that we can all ponder and reflect on in our writing. I have really enjoyed hearing the personal writing journeys of my fellow Street Teamers these past few weeks!

We wanted to give a shout-out to some of these amazing Street Teamers by highlighting their blog posts here at DIY MFA. So without further ado, here are 4 stand-out posts and the DIY MFA Street Team Questions of the Week that inspired them (weeks 1-4).

Week One Question: Have you ever thought about getting an MFA? If so, did you pursue it? (And what was that experience like?) If not, what have you been doing instead to enhance your writing education?

Emma Nelson – MFA Programs vs. DIY-ing Your MFA

Emma tackles Week 1’s question head on, talking about reasons she’s pro-MFA, whether it’s traditional or DIY. I love her no-nonsense approach to the question and the solutions she comes up with for people who are struggling to decide whether an MFA is right for them.

Week Two Question: How did you become a writer? Just as writing is a superpower, every superhero has an origin story. What’s yours? When did you realize that you wanted to write? What motivated you to get started?

AR Neal – Becoming a Writer – DIY MFA Question of the Week 2
Andreé shares her struggle to make her voice heard in response to Week 2’s question about our writers’ origin stories. I love the pluck and determination that young Andreé has in the face of less than supportive authority figures. Sometimes you have to fight for your write!

Week Three Question: One of the most important themes in DIY MFA is honoring your reality. Have you ever had a moment when you had to do that? What was is? How did you balance writing and life?

Kamsin Kaneko – How to honour life and writing
In response to Week 3’s question about honoring your reality as a writer, Kasmin gets real about her need as a mother to find balance in her creative life, and how the creative establishment isn’t always willing to help.

Week Four Question: Everyone has a writing superpower. What’s yours?

Melanie Marttila – What’s my storytelling superpower and my writer’s Kryptonite?
In a brave display of her superpower, Melanie responds to two questions in one post! I love how, in response to Week 4’s question, she applies her results from the Storytelling Super Power Quiz to her current works-in-progress.

What I love most about DIY MFA, and what the Street Team proves over and over again is that we all have different backgrounds, but we all have similar themes that bind us into a talented and inspiring community.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to stop in and show some comment-love to these writers. There’s nothing that writers love better than to know that someone out there is reading what we’ve written. And stay tuned for more round-ups of great writing from the DIY MFA Street Team.

Elisabeth Kauffman is a freelance editor in California. Her favorite genres are YA fantasy, sci-fi, and romance. She regularly obsesses over board games, Doctor Who, and Harry Potter. Come share your ideas with her on Facebook and Twitter and on the web at www.writingrefinery.com. Also, check out her author website: www.elisabethkauffman.com and her author page on Facebook.

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