140 Characters

I’ve chosen my 140 characters for my ad in Jason SurfrApp’s upcoming book, Creativity for Sale.

After mulling over all of your great suggestions, and then doing a bit of research on book and movie taglines, I came up with this for my submission:

Two sassy women from Ohio. One finds criminals. One finds dead bodies. They should meet. Books by Maddie Cochere – www.breezybooks.com

Want to know some of my thought process behind the line?

– I like the deadpan feel of the saying. I decided against using exclamation marks or trying to force the humor aspect.

– The word “sassy” gives the lighter feel I want to impart. The word fits both main characters – lively, bold, and full of spirit.

– Using “criminals” and “dead bodies” denotes the tone of the books. Granted, Susan unwittingly finds criminals, but that minor point isn’t important for the tag. If someone clicks through to the webpage, they are going to find pink and the words, “chick lit” and “humorous mysteries.” It will be obvious my books aren’t gritty, hardcore mysteries.

– I really do think the two main characters should meet…

Oh, wait. They will. My new book project for this year will have Susan Hunter traveling to Southeast Ohio to assist in the grand opening of a Slimmers Weight Loss. Jo Ravens and her sister are always trying new ways to lose weight, and they will be right there for the grand opening.

I can’t wait to see their reactions to each other.

Help Me Write 140 Characters

November 26, 2013 was an unusual day for me. I did something outside the box.

I know I was running on about three hours of sleep. A snowstorm was on its way. My email to Rich that morning was whiny.

It was two days before Thanksgiving, and I was supposed to be writing my book for National Novel Writing Month. Instead, I was over at the Kindle Boards, where I am a serial lurker in the Writer’s Café.

On this day, Jim Kukral started a new thread: Creative book funding: Sponsormybook.com  He commented, “If you haven’t seen how this guy is funding his book, you should.”

The first thought that ran through my head was, “Fund a book? Why would you need funding for your book?” There were no replies to Jim’s thread, and I almost went my semi-merry way.

Almost.

Jim also commented, “Get creative people!”

That’s what pulled me in.

I followed the link to the website. Some guy in a t-shirt was selling advertising on every page of his book about creativity. I watched his video. I liked him.

(slightly cropped) Photo by Laura Evans Photography

I deduced he was a marketing genius. I thought it would be great to buy an ad in his book, but I knew his readers wouldn’t likely be my audience, so I clicked away to read other items of interest.

It wasn’t long before I was back at Jim’s post. This time, I watched the interview between t-shirt guy (Jason SurfrApp) and Jim Kukral. They talked about Jason wearing t-shirts for marketing, selling his last name to the highest bidder, and about success and failure. It was all very interesting, but two specific things stood out for me.

At the 22:18 mark, Jim mentions the ton of media coverage Jason has enjoyed, and they talk about how he will tap into that once again when he releases his book. Jason has been featured on/in The Today Show, CNN, The New York Times, and USA Today. He has written for Forbes, Business Insider, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, and Entrepreneur.

His book will likely be a best seller.

At the 25:00 mark, Jason talks about the ads at the bottom of each page. He indicates that everyone who buys an ad will have a feature on the bookmarking website next year.

I knew right then I wanted in. I can’t even wrap my head around what kind of exposure the ad plus the feature might mean for my books. Or not. But I had to try this unusual method of marketing.

It took a while to choose a page to sponsor. The front of the book was too pricey for me; the back of the book was taken. I opted for a page near the middle. Assuming the book will be traditionally printed, the odd-numbered pages will be on the right. I chose page 105. I’m excited to see what information lands on that particular page. (Jason, if it’s a blank page or the end of a chapter, please place a fun picture on the page. My books are fun!)

My ad can only be 140 characters to include my URL. How about giving me a hand?

I want to link to my website for my books. I think I should continue with my branding of easy-breezy reading, and I suppose I should mention my name in addition to the website.

Short and sweet? Less is more? This might stand out in a sea of “larger” ads:

Breezy Books. Humorous mysteries by Maddie Cochere. www.breezybooks.com

Or something longer. I’m going round in circles with these phrases:

Easy-breezy reading from Breezy Books.
Do you enjoy humorous mysteries? Try books by Maddie Cochere.
Easy-breezy reading from Breezy Books and Maddie Cochere.
Light mysteries with romance and humor.

How would you put it all together? Did something else pop into your mind? I have a bit of brain lock on this.

There are still pages available in Jason’s book, Creativity for Sale. If you want to try some unique marketing for your book, product, or project, check out SponsorMyBook.

A New Book for a New Year

I’m celebrating the New Year with a book!

I’m excited to announce Murder Under Construction, the first book in my new series, Two Sisters and a Journalist, is published and available at Smashwords and will be available in a few hours at Amazon. It will become available at other outlets as Smashwords distributes the book.

This is the book that came to me out of the blue one day. While my sister was in the doctor’s office, I waited for her in my car. I found a little notebook in my purse, and I started scribbling. By the time she came out, I had scribbled almost 1300 words.

You won’t find pink on the covers of the new series. The main character, Jo Ravens, isn’t a girly girl. In fact, at times, she doesn’t act very lady-like. She’s not a shopaholic, men don’t swoon over her, and she’s not a crier.

The new series will be more true mystery than the Susan Hunter books, but don’t worry – they’ll still have my own brand of silliness in them. I enjoy writing lighter fare, and the genre for this new series will be humorous mystery.

Four people have read the book so far.

My mother loved the book. She said she liked it better than my Susan Hunter books.

My sister enjoyed the book and said she couldn’t put it down until she finished it; however, she said she likes the Susan Hunter books more. Secretly, I think she loves Mick. That’s what’s going on there.

My dear friend over there in Australia, David Harding, read the book and gave me a wonderful surprise one day by sending this email to me:

Hi Maddie!
Sorry I took so long but I finished your lovely new book and it is great!!!!
I’m so torn – do I like this better than Susan H? I don’t know! It’s so amazing both of these worlds came out of your head! Wow!
And how in the world do you go about writing a mystery that makes sense and is exciting (and funny). I don’t know that either!
So good!
David

His email put me on top of the world. (Of course! Because he’s Down Under!)

And last but not least, my sweet friend, Jackie, wrote a review for the book for my post today. Oh, did I mention the journalist in the book is named Jackie?  Yep! Once again, a blogger provides inspiration for one of my characters.

“Maddie’s new book is a funny, feel good cozy mystery. Even though it has a dead body (I mean a good mystery has to have a dead body!), the dialog between the two sisters and the journalist (which is my favorite, but I am a bit prejudiced) is filled with laughter and love. The secondary characters are believable and round out the book in a great way! I found myself laughing out loud in places and cheering the ladies on! If you want a great read, go get this book and see what Maddie does so well – write good, fun books!” ~Jackie

I love my early readers!

And yes, I allowed the first line to stand. It was, after all, what started the series.  I swear that body was hard as a rock when my butt bounced off it.

So let’s give some books away to start the New Year!

If you would like an eBook copy of Murder Under Construction, leave a comment and tell me how you would like to receive the book – through Amazon or via a coupon code at Smashwords. I’m offering a limited number of books, but at least thirty, so don’t be shy about asking!

If you are shy (cough, cough, men who like my books but don’t want others to know), feel free to ask for the book through email. My email address is on my About page.        

You can leave comments about other things, too.

Onward and upward! The second book in this new series is the book I wrote for National Novel Writing Month in November – Murder Is Where the Heart Is. Hopefully, I’ll get that book under control and publish it soon, too!