But you have near ZERO sales. What went wrong?

I’m guessing you failed to promote your book. Promoting your book is crucial to its success. How can you expect people to purchase your award-worthy romance novel if they are unaware of its existence?

Let’s Sell Your Romance!

DOMAIN NAME:

Take ownership of your personal BRAND by purchasing your DOMAIN (YourName.com) with a reputable hosting service. Do a Google search for top hosting companies and choose one. Make your email address and social media “handles” similar so people remember you. Choose colors for your BRAND and use these for your website and all social media. For example, look at Gabriela’s diyMFA.com web pages. Beautiful, consistent, and sharp colors. Part of her BRAND.

Promoting your book is MARKETING. You must market. Scenario: You go to the grocery store for cereal. The first three boxes are Twix, Cap’n Krunch, and Bomb Balls. You know you’ll choose Trix or Cap’n Krunch. The names are well known, the packaging is recognizable, and the tastes are familiar. Bomb Balls are completely unknown to you. Familiarity is the key to moving merchandise off the shelf. Become familiar.

AUTHOR WEBSITE:

A website is a must-have for any romance author looking to establish an online presence and connect with readers. Your website is a place to talk about, and get folks excited about your book. 

WEBSITE CONTENT IDEAS:

1. Display your book cover and the back cover blurb.
2. Offer an email newsletter to build your crucial email list. These folks become your fans and superfans. They buy your books and tell their friends.
3. Post a bio so visitors can get to know you. 
4. Write a blurb.
5. Host a book club.
6. Keep the site informative and fresh so folks want to revisit.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Having a presence on different social media sites will increase your book’s exposure and make it more recognizable.

A SAMPLING OF SOCIAL MEDIA SITES:

1. Amazon Author Central
2. Facebook
3. Instagram
4. Twitter, (X?)
5. LinkedIn
6. Book Tok
7. TikTok
8. Pinterest
9. Skype

MARKET WITH POSTERS:

Many of the following websites have FREE accounts. I found posting on social media is the best marketing tool. Remember to include the URL back to your author website. Use #hashtags to reach the masses.

WEBSITES FOR CREATING:

1.  Bookbrush.com.
2. Canva.com
3. PhotoFunia.com
4. MockupShots.com

The above websites, and there are more, allow you to create posters, bookmarks, etc. Have fun creating, posting, and becoming familiar!

Writers Write!!!

Tammy Lough creates ​​cozy women’s fiction sprinkled with humor, romance, and moxie aplenty. Her romantic comedy, Lacey’s Lessons of Love, is a 2022 national and international best-seller & the first book of the For the Love of Lacey series. Available Fall 2023: Lacey’s Circle of Love & Winter: Lacey’s Legacy of Love.

She is an active member of the Missouri Romance Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Southwest Writers, Saturday Writers, and Women Writing the West. You can connect with Tammy on her website, or on Twitter and Facebook.

The post Is Your Romance Novel Circling the Drain? appeared first on DIY MFA.

Stargaze to find your hero and heroine’s true romantic delight!

I hope by the time you finish reading this article; you are excited to use celestial-inspired characterization with the help of the astrological sun signs, the wisdom of the universe, and a barrel full of doggone, genuine fun to build your romantic hero and heroine.

How to Use Celestial-Inspired Characterization

Let’s say you are ready to write your first or umpteenth romance novel and are jotting down a few initial notes. Maybe you are handwriting favorite names for the main characters, toying with plot thoughts, or doodling ideas for a surprise twist, all in the initial stages of pre-writing.

You stop for a minute and envision your heroine. Her face is sketchy but as you write about her, the once blurry edges evolve into real shapes: an oval face, heart-shaped lips, perhaps long, blonde hair, or a black, short, spikey pixie cut. 

Her personality is revealed bit by bit, especially through inner dialogue, and from a cardboard character, she evolves into a heroine who becomes so stinking real you swear she lives and breathes. Don’t try to tell me my heroine, Lacey, of Lacey’s Lessons of Love, isn’t real. Them’s fightin’ words. Seriously.

Just like your heroine, when you create your hero, you have a sketchy idea of the man who will take up real estate on the next 300 or so pages of your book. Who is this guy? What makes him tick? 

The sun signs have been researched to smithereens and include 12 unique female and male traits from A-Z, including such information as general likes and dislikes, favorite hangouts, hobbies, employment, demeanor, heck, even favorite color, and number.

When you research, it will reward you with more characteristics per sun sign than you will use in a lifetime of writing. I used 12 Zodiac Signs: Dates and Personality Traits of Each Star Sign as research for this article.The amount of information regarding characterization is endless and has passed the test of time over and again. Plus, you can mix and mingle, stir, shake it up, and do the Hokey-Pokey by inserting different sun signs into the equation until you get the perfect hero and heroine for your story.. 

Secondary characters? This method works for any book character from an angelic next-door neighbor to a vile villain.

When you want a living, breathing, speaking, animated character, why not read through the astrological sun signs and see which personality type most fits the characters you want to portray in your novel?

The 12 Astrological Sun Signs

Let’s say you choose to see how a Pisces woman and a Leo man would do as a “couple” in your romance novel.

The Pisces Heroine

The Pisces woman feels that the men in her circle, all of them, can take on anything life throws his way. He can and will defeat anyone who is her adversary with one hand tied behind his back while devouring a burrito and ensuring the integrity of a white dress shirt. She soothes him after a stressful day with her cozy, calm demeanor and she dons fluffy mittens for the chilly football game, floral spring dresses on their picnic, and a bikini for their dual dive into the lake.

Here is a small sample of what I found out about our Pisces female. A few likes and perhaps a chance place to meet. Love could be in the stars.

Pisces This ‘n That:

• Art Galleries
• Broadway Play
• Cocktail Party
• Creative
• Dreamer
• Intuitive
• Laughter
• Live Music

The Leo Hero

The Leo man loves an audience. He loves to be adored, flattered, and, most of all, he loves to tell you what to wear, how to part your hair, which friends he approves of … probs not the best companion if your heroine is the quiet, shy type looking for calm waters. 

BUT. Perhaps the #1 pick for the romance genre where conflict drives a page-turning-can’t-putter-downer.

Leo This ‘n That:

• Courageous
• Generous
• Extroverted
• Forgiving
• Lover of Flattery
• Prideful
• Straight, proud stance
• Superb organizer

We have zillions of potential hero & heroine matchups plus any other character you wish to create using the Astrological Sun Signs. What sun sign matchups are you thinking may work for your present or future novel? Let the creativity begin.

Writers Write!!!

Tammy Lough creates ​​cozy women’s fiction sprinkled with humor, romance, and moxie aplenty. Her romantic comedy, Lacey’s Lessons of Love, is a 2022 national and international best-seller & the first book of the For the Love of Lacey series. Available Summer 2023: Lacey’s Circle of Love & Winter 2023: Lacey’s Legacy of Love.She is an active member of the Missouri Romance Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Southwest Writers, Saturday Writers, and Women Writing the West.

You can connect with Tammy on her website, or on Twitter and Facebook.

The post Look to the Stars for Celestial-Inspired Characterization appeared first on DIY MFA.

Why was I on a mission? Because my romantic comedy, Lacey’s Lessons of Love, recently placed as Amazon’s #1 best-seller both nationally and internationally. Talk about slapping your pappy, I even jumped up and decked my Uncle Chester. Then, I asked myself how would anyone find my book among the bazillion books out there for sale. Aha! Social media, that’s how. Eureka! Let’s talk about romance writers and how to get noticed on social media.

A Plan to Get Noticed on Social Media

Decide what social media platform would be most beneficial for your romance novel.

The most important factor is asking yourself how much time you can devote to any given platform. Perhaps choose one or two of the following listed platforms and only add additional media when you can post consistently on the same day of the week and at the same time of the day. 

Choose a third or fourth media platform when you are ready, but only if you honestly have the time necessary to devote to this time-consuming challenge. Once you choose your medium, set realistic, measurable, and attainable goals for your posting.

Example: I will post on Instagram every Friday at 10:00 a.m. Your fans will anticipate reading your new posts, so don’t let them down.

Social Media Platforms

1. Blog — Create text about any topic you desire. Blogging gives you the ability to include pictures and digital images with potential links to further information.
   
2. Email List – Build a website and offer something of value for those who sign up to receive your emails. Make it juicy and irresistible. Begin building your email list even if you haven’t started writing your book. It’s never too soon.
   
3. Facebook — Head over to a website like PhotoFunia and spend the evening putting together background pictures for your social media pages like Facebook and Twitter. These make for excellent advertising when you place your book cover in the background.
   
4. Instagram — Get an account on Instagram if you do not have one. Instagram has risen near the top in popularity and Twitter appears to be circling the drain.
   
5. Pinterest — I LOVE Pinterest. Set up pages reflecting your book with pins like pictures resembling your characters, wardrobe of the time, flora and fauna of the landscape, etc.
   
6. TikTok — Very popular and Book Tok is racing upward in popularity.
   
7. Video — Place video on your author website. Create a video about your book.
   
8. YouTube — Video yourself talking about your book. The uniqueness of  “you” will draw in followers/fans who will become book buyers.

Who is Your Competition?

You know the old saying: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Be on top of what your competition is doing to get noticed on social media. Go to Amazon and enter your book genre of choice. Read the author’s name and check out her author page on Amazon and on her personal internet site. What is she up to?                                                                                                         

The Passion behind Your Brand

On your author webpage, tell your visitors how you got started writing. The passion behind your words. The message you want to relay for your writing. The story of  “you”.

Brand Specifics for Webpage

1. What colors will represent your brand? I love the colors Gabriella uses; crisp and clean.
   
2. What fonts will represent your brand? Choose a font and use it consistently.
   
3. What is the target audience behind your brand? Who reads your books? Cater to them.
   
4. How will you find the audience for your brand? Will they be in specific social media groups?
   

Post as frequently as you can but remember, start out by posting once a month, then biweekly, and only weekly if you can fulfill this on a consistent basis. It is better to post once a month than to have your reader expect to find a post and feel jilted when she doesn’t.

Writers write … and post on a consistent basis!

Tammy Lough creates women’s cozy fiction sprinkled with humor, romance, and moxie aplenty. Her romantic comedy, Lacey’s Lessons of Love, is a 2022 national and international 

#1 best-seller & the first book of the For the Love of Lacey series. Available Spring 2023: Lacey’s Circle of Love & Fall 2023: Lacey’s Legacy of Love.
She is an active member of the Missouri Romance Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Southwest Writers, Saturday Writers, and Women Writing the West. You can connect with Tammy on her website, or on Twitter and Facebook.

The post Eureka! Get Noticed on Social Media appeared first on DIY MFA.

So, when I uncover a genuine holy SH*T, I get giddy inside.

I wondered what the “big romance houses” were saying would be hot in 2023. I found all kinds of juicy predictions and will share three hot romance writing trends for 2023 this research unveiled. I told you, I love research.

My Takeaway:

It became obvious right off the kicker that the historical romance writing trend would remain a full-force genre favorite, but with a twist to set it apart from the past. What kind of twist? I read much favoritism toward the more mature single woman who is a divorcee, a widow, or a widower as the lead role. Force this character to find love again rather than first love.  

To jiggle your memory, I’ll quickly list the ten most popular romance tropes:

1. The Cute Meet-Cute
2. Enemies to Lovers
3. Forced Proximity
4. Destiny
5. Childhood Sweethearts
6. Forbidden Love
7. Impossible Love
8. Fake Relationship
9. Love Triangle
10. Opposites Attract

The above tropes work for any age group. Since romance readers absorb billions of romance books and enjoy placing themselves in the heroine’s role, I’d say many baby boomers would pluck a romance novel with the plot focusing on a more mature couple right from the shelf.

Think how much fun it would be to write about a 40, 50, 60+ character attempting online dating. Oh my! Sounds like a romantic comedy (romcom) to me. What about finding love at a grief counseling group where folks have lost a spouse? A single (again) cruise?

A New Flicker to the Flame:

Guess what? There is chatter about adapting favorite romance writing trends from the past with an LGBTQIA+ flavor. (LGBTQIA+ is an acronym to signify Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual.)

One suggestion? The friends-to-lovers trope as two women are called upon to empty the contents of a deceased, elderly woman’s attic and find love amongst the bobbles and bangles. Think how you can make the relationship real with inner and outer dialogue, the thoughts running through the minds of your characters, the hopes, and the fears. Authors who truly relate need to dive in with both feet. Write your story. You GOT this!

Young Adult (YA) Romance Novels:

The talk surrounding young adult romance? Dark and dramatic teen romances will rate on the hot scale as dangerous and damaged souls unite in fiery, forbidden love. A tortured past, a young man who cannot, will not control his violent temper, but she cannot bear to leave him behind. These tropes will become as popular as TikTok and BookTok. 

If you haven’t climbed aboard the BookTok phenom, scramble to create talk about your novel among the masses on BookTok. You may not be paying attention, but agents, publishers, and subscription-based streaming services are watching and plucking faves. Romance talk on BookTok? Think Colleen Hoover. I’m serious, scramble! Now. Scoot!

Vamps & Vamp Hunters:

Popular tropes such as a vampire falling in love with the hot vampire hunter hired to bring her down remain popular romance writing trends, BUT, with a twist. Have the main characters step aside and fill the hero and heroine’s shoes with mega-interesting secondary characters. How intriguing to have lesser characters move from the dark, dreary shadows and emerge as the center of attraction and action. 

Universal Theme:

As I researched this article, I came across a theme.

We live in a scary world.

We really do.

I bet each of us could name a scary topic we are dealing with for every letter of the alphabet. Yes, A-Z without skipping a beat. During these times of conflict in so many avenues of our lives, I believe many of us have fearful moments. Sometimes daily. Sometimes all day.

I hope for an upcoming, heartfelt trend in 2023.

Be kind to one another.

It matters.

Writers Write!!!

Tammy Lough creates ​​cozy women’s fiction sprinkled with humor, romance, and moxie aplenty. Her romantic comedy, Lacey’s Lessons of Love, is a 2022 national and international best-seller & the first book of the For the Love of Lacey series. Available Spring 2023: Lacey’s Circle of Love & Fall 2023: Lacey’s Legacy of Love.She is an active member of the Missouri Romance Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Southwest Writers, Saturday Writers, and Women Writing the West. You can connect with Tammy on her website, or on Twitter and Facebook.

The post Romance Writing Trends for 2023 appeared first on DIY MFA.

Remember that romance novel you’ve always dreamt of writing? The one tucked within the recesses of your brain with a killer plot, dynamic characters, and a love story unlike any other? Well, jump up and slap yer pappy, by gumbo. It’s time to get that romance novel on paper. 

November is just one creepy footstep past Halloween and that means the final countdown to yessiree:  ***NaNoWriMo***

NaNoWriMo is the acronym for National Novel Writing Month. During November, participants write an entire novel. No need to adjust your bifocals. In one 30-day period, you bleed a novel of 50,000 words onto the page to ‘WIN’ NaNoWriMo.

 For those with a curious nature, 50,000 words break down to a whopping 1,667 words a day. This is NaNo-madness with a capital ARE YOU INSANE? But it is just the fire under your butt needed to make your romance novel a reality.

The official website to register for this hair-pulling craziness is www.nanowrimo.org. You will find every detail from pre-planning to post-meltdown. There are even award badges given to entice fingertips to tap, tap, tap away at the keyboard. Plus, a few I thought would be perfect additions.

PERFECT NEW AWARD BADGES (In My Opinion):

1. A Little Brown Outhouse with Yellow Trim

For utilizing a bedside commode as a desk chair. Who else feels like they need a V-8 forehead thump for not thinking of this?

2. A Silver Sow Necklace

For installing a trough along the edge of your writing desk. Hel—looooo???

3. A QWERTY Embroidered Badge

For forging ahead after a 4 a.m. face-plant onto the keyboard. Available in your choice of black & blue.

Here’s the plan:

1. Get a solid grip on your plot, main characters, conflict, setting, beginning, middle, and ending before the first of November. 

2. Absolutely no editing! Do not fix typos, correct grammar, nor filter your words. There are no ‘Grammar Nazis’ so write, write faster, write so fast you require safety glasses to squelch the key sparks (now that’s fast). Include all the nonsensical chitty-chatter that darts like an uncensored movie reel through your mind. (something completely asinine could become a jewel. Well, it could.)

3. It doesn’t matter if you slam George Carlin’s famous 7 words throughout your story, or if your story consists only of those 7 words, just write them over and over sporting a snarky little grin until you hit 50,000 words. Then, pick up the ‘Used the Most Profanity’ badge as you proclaim, “I won, I won!”

One rule exists that you MUST follow to hit 50,000 words in 30 days. Do NOT touch the backspace key. Remember the no-editing rule? If you’re lucky, a gorilla will jump atop your keyboard and whack your knuckles with a frozen banana. If you lean toward the unlucky side? Hit the backspace key and see where the gorilla shoves said banana. If you guessed, “In my ear?” Wrong. Dead wrong.

One more NaNoWriMo thought to consider. What do you think is going to happen around the last week of November? Excluding panic? You guessed it. BURN OUT. For this reason, attempt to push yourself in the beginning since you know the insanity increases as the days dwindle toward midnight on November 30th. I know coffee drinkers who chew the beans rather than take the time to brew. Yes, it gets that bad. Really. It gets THAT bad.

A final FYI: When December rolls around and you need to hide NaNoWriMo tirade-induced bald spots? Amazon sells hair extensions. Just sayin’.

How will you prepare for NaNoWriMo? Tell us in the comments.

Writers Write!!!

Tammy Lough loves creating women’s fiction bursting with humor, romance, and moxie aplenty. Read Lacey’s Lessons of Love, the first book in the For the Love of Lacey series. Available Spring 2023: Lacey’s Circle of Love and Fall 2023: Lacey’s Legacy of Love. She is an active member of the Missouri Romance Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Southwest Writers, Saturday Writers, and Women Writing the West. You can connect with Tammy on her website, or on Twitter and Facebook.

The post NANO-WHAT-MO??? appeared first on DIY MFA.

The process is simple. Plug keywords into a content writing tool, a robo-author, so to speak. These tools deliver near-flawless emails, blogs, novellas, short stories, and full-fledged novels. That is right, there are books available today solely written with an artificial intelligence tool. The book cover design? Yes, created by AI.

The end product? Not a mumble-jumble-piece of nonsensical sentences. No, it produces content ready for a byline and out to market. Let us say you are due to write a blog post for your author’s website. Plug in a few keywords and moments later a blog appears using excellent SEO content which awards your blog higher exposure on top search engines. A person could set aside an afternoon to research a book idea and then enter prime keywords into their tool of choice. They could hold a full-fledged novel in their hands before bedtime. Is this a fair practice? Using this type of tool, where does an author’s voice come into play? Is that not why we purchase books from our favorite authors? We like the unique way they paint their words and weave their tales?

Writing a book is hard work. Many non-writing folks feel our job is fairly cushy, but we must imagine the project, research and organize the material, write the copy, conclude, edit, line-edit, have it agent’d, and published. The person authoring the piece must be creative and write in such a way as to engage a reader and keep her engaged until the final word.

Promotional Advertising for Artificial Intelligence Writing Tools States:

1. A timesaving jewel of a tool.
2. You will feel more confident about writing a novel.
3. You will enjoy seeing your story come to life in front of you.

Creators of Artificial Intelligence for Writers State:

1. It is helpful for people who have problems with writer’s block.
2. You do not need any experience in writing a novel, nor do you have to write it from start to finish.
3. Based on the information you provide; your AI program will generate an original plot and well-developed characters.

GPT-3 Artificial Intelligence Advertising States:

1. This rascal, developed by OpenAI, is the most advanced AI system yet and claims to mirror the way a human writes text. It generates unique stories by creating words, characters, scenes, and plots which are then synthesized into a novel.

The most brilliant man to share our airspace, the late physicist, Stephen Hawking, said this about artificial intelligence, “It will either be the best thing that’s ever happened to us, or it will be the worst thing. If we’re not careful, it very well may be the last thing.”  

Writers Write. (Their own words).

Tammy Lough loves creating women’s fiction bursting with humor, romance, and moxie aplenty. Read Lacey’s Breakaway, the first book in the For the Love of Lacey series. Available Spring 2023: Lacey’s Circle of Love and Fall 2023: Lacey’s Legacy. She is an active member of the Missouri Romance Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Southwest Writers, Saturday Writers, and Women Writing the West. You can connect with Tammy on her website, or on Twitter and Facebook.

The post The Nobel Prize in Literature Awarded to: Artificial Intelligence? appeared first on DIY MFA.

You’ve Got This! Why? You Did the Following:

1. Read the list of attending agents and visited their websites. 

Pay attention to the agent’s bio and acquisition interests, her page of represented authors, and the type of publications she accepts. 

Now, scroll through her client list. Is your book a good fit?

Which publisher(s) has she previously sold to? 

2. Checked to see if she maintains a Facebook page, a Twitter or Pinterest account. 

Follow her on social media. Become an agent info-junkie.

Now analyze it: What “vibe” do you get from her social media? A mentor, manager, a thorn in the backside?

3. Arrived at your appointed time or risk all of your hard work. 

There is no such thing as a do-over at the big show; so, be on time.

She is sizing you up and wondering if you would be easy to work with. She is also wondering whether you would follow instructions and make the recommended changes to your manuscript.

4. Stepped forward and made eye contact. 

Introduce yourself and know the correct pronunciation of her name. Mispronounce her name? Ugh. Goodbye conference. Tuck your tail and run home.

Be confident. You have an awesome novel and she needs to know you are the author to tell this story. An agent will sense your confidence and listen.

This is your time to shine. Paint a word picture of your story to show how much your novel rocks!

5. You are a professional writer and this agent wants the full package. 

The full package, by the way, is a client who makes appointments on time, who dresses appropriately for meetings and interviews, and is polite and confident.

6. You have memorized your pitch until you can project with ease.

Be sure to practice at home until you reach this level of comfort. And also time your pitch to be certain it meets requirements. Listen for dictation issues.

7. Introduce her to the title of your book, the genre, setting, the protagonist and antagonist in one to two sentences. Just the facts. 

Memorize the above until you can relay this information without thinking. Go into greater detail and talk about the conflicts, setting, tone, and demographics of your projected reader base. And also reveal your expected word count.

You Nail the Pitch! She Asks for More Information!

Here’s what you should be prepared to talk about:

• Explain where your book fits in the market, mention the target audience and manuscript status. 
• These days agents want completed manuscripts, but you may say the manuscript will be complete thirty days after signing a contract. 
• Mention writing awards you have received.
• Finish with a summary of the main characters, central story, sexual tension, and main conflict. Do not forget your contact information. 

It is not imperative you bring a proposal (cover letter, synopsis, and the first three chapters), but if the agent asks to see one and you can hand her a neatly typed, crisp copy of your proposal in a presentation binder, kudos to you. 

She may hand it back, give you her business card, and ask you to email a copy as an attachment. If she is not interested, perhaps she offered suggestions for changes to make your story more enticing to sell. Learn from the experience. 

You are now prepared for your first face-to-face pitch. You can and will succeed. Positive thinking and preparedness will get you everywhere. 

You’ve got this!

Writer’s Write!

Tammy Lough loves creating women’s fiction sprinkled with humor, romance, and unique characters bursting with moxie and determination. Read Lacey’s Breakaway, the first book in the For the Love of Lacey series. Available Spring 2023: Lacey’s Circle of Love and Fall 2023: Lacey’s Legacy.She is an active member of the Missouri Romance Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Southwest Writers, and Women Writing the West. You can connect with Tammy on her website, or on Twitter and Facebook.

The post Perfect Pitches Yield Grand Slams appeared first on DIY MFA.