Idelle Kursman

BookBaby Independent Writers Conference

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I am posing with Joanna Penn at Bookbaby

I came home from attending the second annual BookBaby Independent Authors Conference in Philadelphia. I met wonderful fellow writers, listened to practical book marketing tips from successful authors and entrepreneurs, and took away many ideas I am anxious to try. In this post, I would like to share some of the great ideas I learned at the conference.

Eva Lesko Natiello is an author, speaker and book marketing consultant. She wrote and self-published The Memory Box, a bestseller on The New York Times and USA Today. Her website is evanatiello.com. Eva gave the following marketing tips for self-published authors:

Fill out your Amazon Author Page completely and link it to your website and blog.
Run a discounted price promotion and advertise it widely.
Be a guest for a book blogger. To find book bloggers, simply google “(Your genre”) book bloggers”
Study the competition. Make a list of all the current books similar to yours in the last three years and find out their book prices, format, and number of pages. How are authors of your genre promoting their books?
Show gratitude to readers who have taken the time to review your book.

Tieshena Davis is the CEO and Senior Publisher of the award-winning Purposely Created Publishing Group. She is a speaker and the author of Think Like a Bookpreneur (www.thinklikeabookpreneur.com). Tieshena encouraged authors to begin selling their books with pre-sales, which is a strategy to establish audience interest, connect with fans, and secure advance sales before a book is publicly released.

Authors need to meticulously plan during the pre-sales process (6-8 weeks before book is released) to achieve results. Set a goal of how much money you the author would like to make. Remember to calculate all expenses (costs of the printing, transaction, shipping, packaging, etc.), and review the profit margin.
Authors need tools to drive sales such as an email notification list, creating a promotion team, alerting social media followers to spread the word, and exploring targeted events where your readers gather.
Notify target buyers on an email notification list that the book is available for pre-order.
Build an audience connection by sharing quotes, tips, or resources; host weekly virtual events; email teaser content; offer special bulk book packages; and send out snippets of the book.
Run ad campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, and Amazon Author-sponsored ads.
Discount and cross promote. An example is if readers pre-order author’s second book, they will get the first book at 50% off.
Run weekly contests and giveaways.

Joanna Penn was the keynote speaker of the BookBaby conference. She is an author, international speaker, and entrepreneur. Joanna writes fiction and nonfiction. Thousands of authors go to her website www.TheCreativePenn.com for marketing and promotion. The following are her tips:

Change your mindset– don’t think of yourself as a struggling author. Write down positive affirmations and refer to them daily.
Authors must focus on the customer. It’s not about you, it’s about the reader. What do they want to pay for? Find the intersection between what you love and what you can sell.
Amazon is a search engine for people “who buy stuff.” Use it for research to find out what people are buying.
Sell your book in multiple countries in English. Joanna’s books have sold in English in 86 countries through Kobo (a Canadian company that sells e-books, audiobooks, e-readers, and tablet computers).
Write three shorter books rather than one 80,000-word book. This works well in fiction.
Build multiple streams of income. Most writers make money from other sources like speaking, freelancing, and blogging.
Attract an audience that works best with your personality, your book, and your lifestyle. What can you do consistently over the long term?
Take action.
You get what you focus on. Make the time.
Write the best book you can. Don’t rush it!

As one can see, being a successful author involves hard work; there are no shortcuts. Research, computer savvy, and knowledge of various marketing strategies are imperative. Writing the best book you possibly can is simply not enough. The experts advise doing around twenty minutes of marketing a day along with writing. If one marketing strategy doesn’t work, try another. Don’t give up.

The BookBaby Writers Conference boosted my motivation to market my first novel, True Mercy. It was great meeting so many like-minded people. Rather than being competitive, participants were eager to help fellow authors succeed. Networking opportunities abounded.

Last but not least, I would like to thank my husband Michael for attending the conference with me and supporting my efforts in the book business.

Note: My novel True Mercy is on sale for only 99 cents on Smashwords. Go to https://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=True+Mercy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Pittsburgh

Leave a Comment / Other Current Issues

It is difficult to think and write about anything other than the shooting in the Pittsburgh synagogue. Whereas only a few years ago, we had to worry about violence from foreign countries, now the main concern is violence committed by our own citizens. The massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue is a tipping point for me personally because I know so many people in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh. All over the world, people go to houses of worship on their Sabbath to find peace, inspiration, and community; it is one of the last places one would expect a deranged individual to shoot people. I am certain I won’t be the only one who will be preoccupied with this massacre the next time I attend a house of worship.

Theories abound as to why there is an escalation of violence in the United States. I have no ready answers or solutions but want to instead eulogize the people that we lost in the shooting.

Cecil and David Rosenthal, aged 59 and 54, were brothers that lived near the synagogue and often helped out during the services and other activities in the building. Both had intellectual disabilities and were described as inseparable. Chris Schopf, vice president of residential supports for ACHIEVA, an agency that provides support for individuals with disabilities in Pennsylvania, said this about the Rosenthal brothers, “Most of all, they were kind, good people with a strong faith and respect for everyone around.”

Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz, aged 66, was a doctor. People recalled when others were afraid of treating people with HIV, Dr. Rabinowitz would hold their hands without gloves. Always ready to help others, he ran out immediately when he heard gunshots. Family and patients describe him as loving, kind, and compassionate.

Richard Gottfried, 65, was a dentist and active in the congregation. He worked at the Squirrel Hill Medical Center with his wife, who is also a dentist. They were well-known for taking refugees and immigrants as patients.

Sylvan and Bernice Simon, aged 86 and 84, were married in the Tree of Life synagogue in 1956. They were a close couple who were often seen holding hands. People recalled them as being kind to everyone.

Irwin Younger, 69, was a small business owner and a kids’ baseball coach. He prayed and volunteered regularly at the synagogue. Irwin was always anxious to make newcomers feel welcomed.

Melvin Wax, 88, was a retired accountant. He always arrived early for services and often led the congregation in the prayers.

Rose Mallinger, 97, was active in the Tree of Life synagogue for six decades. She attended services every weekend and people recalled her humor and intelligence. She was warm and loving and never complained about anything.

Daniel Stein, 71, was retired and attended the synagogue every Saturday. A nephew described him as a great guy with a dry sense of humor.

Joyce Feinberg, 75, was a retired research specialist at the University of Pittsburgh. Her late husband Stephen taught statistics at nearby Carnegie Mellon University. Joyce and her husband would welcome his students into their home.

These eleven people attending synagogue services had no connection with the gunman. As in all these acts of violence, we lose innocent people senselessly.

When will it stop?

Idelle Kursman is the author of True Mercy, a thriller that covers the issues of autism and the human trafficking crisis.

Note: From now until November 24th, True Mercy is on sale at Smashwords for only 99 cents! Log onto https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/747954 and enter the coupon code EA37K.

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Double-Edged Sword of Modern Technology in Vietnam–Increased Connectivity and Human Trafficking

Leave a Comment / Human Trafficking Awareness

I recently came across a very disturbing article in last month’s The Independent Voice. Vietnam is a developing country in Southeast Asia and its people are anxious to connect with the world using the latest technology. Studies indicate approximately 68% of the Vietnamese have smartphones and an even higher percentage have internet access. So while it is still often difficult for those located in rural areas to obtain running drinking water, technological use is widespread. However, internet use is unfortunately far ahead of safety awareness. Nowhere is this more alarmingly apparent than the growing problem of organized groups of young men sending friend requests to young girls on Facebook in an effort to trick them into forced marriages.

These men act as agents to lure young girls living in villages close to the Vietnamese-Chinese border. Why? Because in China men greatly outnumber women, and there are Chinese men so desperate to find women to marry that they solicit the services of these unscrupulous profiteers. These agents often travel to a well-known trading post on the border to sell young girls. Since Facebook is banned in China, Chinese clients are using “WeChat, Weibo, and Viber” as dating apps to purchase kidnapped brides.

Fortunately, charities like Pacific Links Foundation are working hard to combat human trafficking by doing what they can to prevent this criminal activity as well as provide support and resources for survivors. Written on the Pacific Links Foundation website are these frightening statistics:

Human trafficking is a growing $150 billion a year business, enslaving over 40 million women, children, and men in forced sexual and forced labor exploitation.
The chance of being enslaved in the Asia Pacific region is twice as high compared to developed countries.
Vietnam is a source country for cross-border sex and labor trafficking.*

Human trafficking in this region is only getting worse. Advocates insist more safeguards for internet users in developing countries must be put into place on par with users in the developed world in order to combat trafficking. Please check out their website at https://www.pacificlinks.org to learn more.

*Information taken from http://www.pacificlinks.org/counter-trafficking

Interested in reading a novel about the international human trafficking crisis? Check out True Mercy. Available on Amazon, IngramSpark, and Smashwords. True Mercy would make a perfect holiday gift for friends and family—designed to provide an engaging read as well as to inform the public on the evils of human trafficking.

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Networking for Introverts

1 Comment / Writing

Introverts Can Network Successfully

Most writers are introverts. Networking can be particularly difficult for them. But they can still network successfully to find jobs and to market their writing. Dana Kaye, the owner of Kaye Publicity (https://kayepublicity.com), recently released the helpful video “Networking for Introverts.” This video is helpful not only to writers but also for anyone who is introverted and could use some help. Kaye explained the fundamental difference between introverts and extroverts: while both enjoy socializing, introverts find doing too much drains their energy. They require time alone in order to recharge. Extroverts, on the other hand, are the opposite: they feel drained when they spend too much time alone and renew their energy by socializing. Kaye offers practical suggestions for introverts while they are networking in a room full of people: If you find a person to chat with in a crowd:

Introduce yourself
Wait for their introduction
Shake hands with eye contact
Ask a question and listen to the answer.
Let the other person talk! (People love talking about themselves and the pressure is off of you to be charming and engaging.)

If you go to a group of people talking:

Apologize for interrupting.
Introduce yourself with eye contact.
Listen to their responses and introductions.
If they resume the conversation, listen and respond. If they don’t, ask questions and start another conversation.
Ask meaningful questions.
Listen!

As mentioned earlier, too much socializing can drain an introvert’s energy, so here is how to make a GRACEFUL EXIT when you meet someone new:

Shake hands, make eye contact, and say “It was nice to meet you.”
Swap business cards and provide a reason to follow up.
If needed, make an excuse such as you must make a phone call or use the restroom. Then leave the room temporarily so they see you are credible and not just want to get away from them.

Don’t forget to mingle! You’re there to make connections. At the same time, take breaks so you can recharge. Before you know it, you’ll be making connections!

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Austin, Minnesota: An Autism-Friendly Town

Leave a Comment / Autism, Inspirational Individuals

The Famous Hormel Historic Home

In my novel True Mercy, Bruce often had to worry about his son Adam’s behavior in social settings. But if the story took place in Austin, Minnesota, he would have had much less to worry about. That’s because Austin is an autism-friendly town. Ten years ago, the community used their resources to educate local business owners about autism and train them to be aware of these customers’ needs. The town even has a community autism resource specialist. Therefore, Austin’s residents are probably more aware than most about the signs of autism that my story’s character Adam displayed: intense fixation on specific topics, unusual body movements like hands flapping, echolalia (word repetition), and meltdowns caused by feeling overwhelmed.

So how did the small town of Austin make itself autism-friendly? Just go in the Hormel Historic Home, a nonprofit museum dedicated to all things Spam, the canned meat that has been produced by Hormel Foods there for 81 years. Mary Barinka works there. She once worked as a Hormel marketing executive and is now the town’s autism resource specialist as well as a museum employee. Barinka has a sixteen-year-old daughter with autism. Along with working at the museum, she handles questions and requests from parents that can range from how to give a presentation to new business owners and their employees on becoming autism-friendly, where to find a good speech therapist, and how to help a local community college launch a special autism program.

You may wonder what business owners must do to make their establishments autism-friendly. Often individuals with autism react negatively to overstimulation, so these changes can include dimming the store’s lights, lowering the music volume, and training employees to speak slowly and in short phrases, and to be prepared to have more patience than usual.

The program began when retired Hormel executive and family friend Gary Ray asked Barinka if her then six-year-old daughter was able to participate in summer camp. Barinka told him she and her husband would like her to attend camp but it was not possible because they would need the camp to understand their daughter’s special needs and they would have to hire a helper. Ray and his wife then offered a donation for Barinka to start a camp. She jumped on it. The Ray’s have since donated over $100,000 to fund more programs such as a monthly respite night with children’s activities to give parents and caregivers a break, a peer program at the high school where student volunteers to spend time with another high schooler with autism one-on-one, day camps, and of course, the museum.

Hearing about the town’s programs, new families have moved in. Barinka also gets calls for advice from other towns who would like to set up their own autism-friendly programs.

Perhaps someday I will be able to visit Austin, Minnesota. I am sure my fictional character Adam and real-life individuals with autism would thrive in this town.

Information for this post came from The Washington Post article “The town that gave the world Spam is proud to be ‘autism-friendly’ by Amy Ellis Nutt.

True Mercy can be purchased on Amazon, IngramSpark, and Smashwords.

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True Mercy

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