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Author Interview: 4 Questions for Dianna Gunn

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Since 2011, I’ve led a chat every Thursday at 8pm ET. Called #StoryDam Writing Chat, this hour-long Twitter conversation is a major source of creative camaraderie for me and other writers. #StoryDam is a friendly crew and I’ve made some dear friends there, many of whom I hope to meet in person one day. Among those is Dianna Gunn! There really isn’t space in this post to share all that she does (burlesque, hosting a Spoonie Podcast, etc) but I hope you enjoy learning a little bit about her in the following 4 Question Author Interview:


1. Hi Dianna! Thank you for being part of my 4-Question Author Interview series! Let’s start by having you tell us a little more about yourself. What makes you so passionate about writing? What’s your writing routine?

Dianna: I was lucky enough to grow up in a very bookish household. We were poor, but the one thing we never lacked was books. Once I got the hang of reading, I devoured books like candy. It honestly didn’t occur to me that I could write my own books until my mother made some off-handed comment about JK Rowling getting rich. My mind basically imploded. Wait, you can… Write your own books? I thought all the books had already been written by dead white guys (an unfortunate indictment of traditional publishing). To know I, a young girl, could write my own books, and that writing books was a job, was revolutionary.

I decided right then and there I would become an author. I have cursed myself for that decision sometimes, because writing is hard and publishing is harder, but I have never once considered quitting.

As for my writing routine, that’s a little more convoluted. I have insomnia and a variety of other health problems, which make it difficult to keep a stable routine. The one thing I am consistent with, however, is that I do a warmup before I start a big writing session, usually in the form of worldbuilding or a character development exercise. This helps me get into the right mindset for my work and allows me to achieve a state of flow more quickly when I do turn to my main work in progress.

I do also like to do my writing right after a workout and breakfast, but sometimes that’s not possible. My health, and the freelance work that currently pays the bills, have to take priority, which means some days I write last and occasionally I don’t write at all.

2. Tell us about Branding for Fiction Authors: A Workbook for Authors with No Business Experience.

Dianna:  Branding for Fiction Authors is a printable mini-workbook designed to help fiction authors build a brand around their work. The workbook provides a step-by-step process for creating an authentic author brand so you can build a devoted fan base.
By the end of this workbook, you will have developed the following essential aspects of your brand:

• Brand definition
• Brand aesthetic
• Brand voice
• Brand keywords
• Book profiles to establish how your existing works fit within your overall brand

You will also receive the tools to create important marketing materials, including author bios for a variety of contexts, book titles, and book blurbs.

3. Why did you create Branding for Fiction Authors?
Dianna: I run the #WeeknightWriters Twitter chat on Thursday nights at 7PM EST, and people are always asking me to cover business topics. However, when I created chats around those subjects, I quickly learned that most authors need far more extensive help than what I can provide in an hour-long social media discussion.

Over the same time period, I started paying more attention to the resources available. I noted that all of the self-publishing blogs and podcasts I followed came from a specific type of author. These authors had run multiple businesses in the past. Many had worked in consulting or accounting. They were people with an instinctive understanding of how business works.

Because this knowledge was instinctive for these authors, they developed a laser focus on specific tools and strategies for publishing. This is all great knowledge, but without a basic grasp of how branding and marketing works, the information is overwhelming.

The type of writer coming to #WeeknightWriters, however, had spent years or even decades perfecting their craft. Most had some desire to improve their brand and marketing, but were so intimidated by the advanced resources available that they never even started.
Branding for Fiction Authors aims to bridge this gap. I introduce basic concepts related to branding and marketing, then provide exercises to help authors apply these concepts to their body of work. By the time an author finishes the workbook, they should be able to approach marketing with confidence.

4. You are obviously passionate about sharing what you’ve learned with other writers. Which writers, in turn, inspire you?

Dianna: So many! In terms of writing craft, I am constantly awed by NK Jemisin. Her worlds are all radically different from one another, the stories are incredibly complex, and the characters are fascinating and diverse. I’m not sure an author has ever so thoroughly smashed my heart and left me still loving them anyway.

Another author who inspires me on a craft level is NS Dolkart. I read his debut trilogy, The Godserfs Trilogy, and was obsessed. The worldbuilding, the diversity of the characters, the way multiple storylines were woven seamlessly together into one. A masterpiece.

The other way authors inspire me is through the work they do to nurture other writers and writing communities. You are definitely on that list, Tui :) [Note from Tui: Awww! Thank you, Dianna!]

I also want to mention Nisi Shawl and K. Tempest Bradford, the creators of Writing the Other. Writing the Other offers a variety of courses to help writers create more inclusive worlds and storylines. They also offer a variety of payment options and an extensive scholarship program. I’ve been lucky enough to get scholarships to three of their courses, and they have enormously improved my writing skills. They have also given me something to model my own workshops and courses after, as I love their discussion-focused approach.

Learn more about Dianna Gunn:

BIO: Dianna Gunn is a freelance marketing consultant, dark fantasy author, podcaster, and indie author community mentor. She runs the Business for Authors newsletter and the #WeeknightWriters Twitter chat (Thursdays at 7PM EST). Her first workbook, Branding for Fiction Authors: A Workbook for Authors with No Business Experience, was released in November 2019.

Find Dianna on Twitter @DiannaLGunn or on Instagram @d_l_gunn.

~Dianna

Freelance Writer

www.thedabbler.ca

Stories of Strong Women Overcoming Trauma

www.authordiannagunn.com

Helping Authors Become Entrepreneurs

www.businessforauthors.com

Before you go… Want to keep up with Tui Snider?

No matter where you live in the galaxy, Tui's books can take you on a FUN adventure!
No matter where you live in the galaxy, Tui Snider’s books can take you on a FUN adventure!

PRIVATE NEWSLETTER: If you’d like to keep up with me, you might like my newsletter. It comes out every Sunday. Use the form below to sign up if you’d like to:

  • Know where I speak next
  • Find out when my next books come out
  • Learn offbeat trivia
  • See unique cemetery & travel photos
  • Be in the loop for any other fun news!

FREEBIE: As a thank you for signing up to my newsletter, you’ll receive a historic cemetery symbols guide I created called “A Quick Guide to The Many Meanings of Hands.”

Filed Under: Blog on Writing & Life, Blog Posts, texas, Travel Photo Essays Tagged With: author, book, book marketing, dianna gunn, indie, indie author, indie publishing, marketing, storydam

Author Interview: 4 Questions for B. Alan Bourgeois

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A passion for helping other authors

I first met B. Alan Bourgeois through a rather cheeky exchange on Twitter. A few years ago, when I saw his tweet about the Authors Marketing Event (AME), I replied by asking if they needed someone to give a presentation on the topic of Twitter for Writers. Long story short: he said yes, and I’ve been attending (and teaching at) this wonderful (and FUN!) annual event ever since.

Alan doesn’t just write, he also spends time and energy helping authors learn to promote themselves. And I mean a LOT of time and energy. Frankly, I don’t know when or if he sleeps! Even though I see Alan every summer at AME, there’s always so much going on and he’s always so focused on making the event run smoothly (no easy feat!) that I’ve never really had the chance to ask about him. What makes him tick? I know he writes; I know he loves helping other writers; but why? I just wasn’t sure where all that came from.

After seeing his responses to my interview questions, I have a better understanding of Alan. At the lowest point in his life, he threw himself into helping others. I hope you enjoy learning more about B. Alan Bourgeois in the following 4 Question Author Interview:

B. Alan Bourgeois
1. Tell us about your writing routine, i.e. do you write every day, or at a certain time, or in a certain place, etc? 

Alan: I have a double writing routine.  First for my book and short story writings, I need to be locked away from TV, phone and other distractions so my mind can relax and I can allow for the spirit or energy to be released and for the story to unfold.  I write it out by hand on paper first and then I will edit it via PC.

My second writing routine is for my businesses.  As someone who helps authors around the country, it is important to keep them one step ahead of the publishing curve, so when something new is happening, or changes occur in the industry, I drop everything and write what needs to be said.  Making sure that the authors are up to date as quickly as possible so that they may succeed.

2. Like you, I’m passionate about helping fellow writers, especially with promotion. My passion was born out of years of isolation and bullying. The internet, and especially Twitter, helped me find my tribe. So I’m curious about you; where did you get your tremendous passion and drive to help other writers from?

Alan: I have had the drive to help people from when I was a teenager.  I was able to do this through a lot of programs over the years in a lot of forms.  My desire to help authors came from my time as a publisher.  While I was getting books published for authors around the world in the early 2000’s, I saw and felt how important marketing was and the massive growth that laid ahead for getting published.

Realizing the high cost of marketing, I knew that most authors couldn’t afford to compete against the big publishers, or even the mid-size publishers.  But, without marketing an author will not be able to succeed as much as they want.  It is all about getting people to know you have a book and without them, you will not get book sales.

In addition, I saw how some companies were out to just rip off the author with false promises and that just pissed me off.  It was these two key aspects that led me to create the organization Texas Authors which is now the Authors Marketing Guild and helps authors worldwide.

When authors work with me and they see success, that is the happiest time for me related to this work.  I am tickled to see that happen often.  But, like me, an author has to work the programs and be determined in order to succeed.

B. Alan Bourgeois via TuiSnider.com

3. What is the Authors Marketing Guild? Why did you create it? Is it just for Texas authors? 

Alan: In August 2011 at my lowest time in life, I created Texas Assoc. of Authors to help authors succeed.  In 2018 I added the Indie Beacon group, which did the same things as Texas Authors, but for authors outside of Texas.  In 2019, we merged these two organizations and made it a membership owned business.

As Authors Marketing Guild LLC (AMG), we are able to grow stronger and increase our opportunities for authors to get more exposure and have more opportunities to succeed.  While our authors in the Middle East, or Eurpoe and Australia may have slightly different challenges then those in the USA, we work with them to get that help when possible.

It is exciting and scary to see how different countries are publishing books, or facing the changes in the electronic world.  All of these challenges gives me more to work with to help authors worldwide.

4. Tell us about the AME and what authors can expect? Do they have to attend in person?

Alan: In 2016 as we continued to grow, we created the Authors Marketing Event (AME) which is an opportunity for authors to learn in person from professionals on how to better market and sell their books.  This fun weekend includes the authors gala where we announce the winners of our two book contests, and celebrate being a published author.

In 2017 we began to record the sessions and put them online so people could access the videos and continue to learn all year, or even to refresh their memory during the year.  Our events are so full of information, that the attendees leave a bit overwhelmed with the great valuable information, so the videos help keep them on track.

While it is the authors benefit to be at the weekend event in person, we do offer the videos online so they can still connect to the educational process.  The videos are available for a fee, but those that attend in person get all the videos at no additional charge.  That’s over 24 videos and growing with great tips and tools to help them through the process.  Plus, those that attend the event pay less for the event and the video’s then if they purchase access to the videos on-line.

The Authors Marketing Event is a fun weekend event that continues to grow with attendees and value each year.

B. Alan Bourgeois via TuiSnider.com

Learn more about B. Alan Bourgeois:

BIO: B. Alan Bourgeois has been writing for over 30 years in a wide variety of genres and styles. He has won numerous awards for short stories, books and speaking during his career. All of this has led him to become one of the leading author advocates for Indie Authors in the past 7 years. This includes nonprofits and other organizations that have spot lighted Texas & Indie Authors and moved them into the category and recognition of traditionally published authors from New York, Chicago and the West Coast.

Through the years he continues to create programs and events that have gained recognition across the country and in many cases are now being copied in local areas. Yet, as he will tell you, his greatest work is still to come with the publication of two books; Authors Revolution Workbook (2019) and I’m Crazy Great scheduled for release in 2021.

Through both of these books, he will show authors how to regain their control and financial wealth as writers, while also inspiring people from around the world to stay true to their dreams when it means helping others, even at your own cost.

For more information about Alan and his various projects, follow these links:

Books: Books by B. Alan Bourgeois
Twitter: @BAlanBourgeois
Authors Marketing Event info: Authors Marketing Event (AME) [Note from Tui: On February 16, the price for this action-packed weekend jumps from $199.95 to $249. It will go up to $495 by the event date. So if you want to learn helpful book marketing strategies either in-person or online, now’s the time to grab your ticket!  I’d love to see you there!]

Before you go… Want to keep up with Tui Snider?

No matter where you live in the galaxy, Tui's books can take you on a FUN adventure!
No matter where you live in the galaxy, Tui Snider’s books can take you on a FUN adventure!

PRIVATE NEWSLETTER: If you’d like to keep up with me, you might like my newsletter. It comes out every Sunday. Use the form below to sign up if you’d like to:

  • Know where I speak next
  • Find out when my next books come out
  • Learn offbeat trivia
  • See unique cemetery & travel photos
  • Be in the loop for any other fun news!

FREEBIE: As a thank you for signing up to my newsletter, you’ll receive a historic cemetery symbols guide I created called “A Quick Guide to The Many Meanings of Hands.”

Filed Under: Blog on Writing & Life, Blog Posts, texas, Travel Photo Essays Tagged With: AME, AMG, author, b. alan bourgeois, book, book marketing, indie, indie author, indie publishing, marketing, memoir, quirky, Texas

To be free, or not to be free? That is the book marketing question!

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I’m an Angsty Little Hamlet!

“To be free, or not to be free, that is the book marketing question—
Whether ’tis Nobler for indie authors to suffer
The Slings and Arrows of Amazon’s algorithm,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of freebies,
And by opposing, end them? To download, to sell—
No more; and by sell, to say we end
The Heart-ache, and the thousand Marketing shocks
Authors are heir to? ‘Tis an extroversion,
Devoutly to be wished. To buy, to sell,
To write, perchance to Sell; Aye, there’s the rub,
For in that point of sale, what reviews may come,
When readers shuffle off this merchant’s coil,
Must give us pause.” ~Tui Snider, channeling Hamlet through the perspective of an indie author

Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie, Texas, (photo by Tui Snider)
Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie, Texas, (photo by Tui Snider)

Major Marketing Question: What’s Free Got to do with It?

Pardon my bastardized Shakespeare, but I’m an angsty little Hamlet this month as I launch my latest book, Paranormal Texas.

Why, you ask?

Paranormal Texas is my second book release, and so it was much easier this time around. I learned from my mistakes and did a few things differently. Other tasks remained the same, but I whizzed through them simply because I had done them before.

The research, writing, cover creation, front matter, back matter, and all the million little steps required to turn a big pile of words into the pages of a book – all that makes sense to me now. All those skills can be honed, honed and even turned into a recipe of sorts to follow again and again.

Because of this, I feel fairly competent when it comes to creating a book.

However, when it comes to marketing a book, I turn into an angsty little Hamlet as you can see by the soliloquy above.

Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie, Texas, (photo by Tui Snider)
Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie, Texas, (photo by Tui Snider)

Why offer a book for free?

For one thing, since I’m enrolled in Amazon’s KDP program, I can offer my book for free for up to 5 days in each 90 day period that it is available for sale.

But why?

Why offer my book, Paranormal Texas, for free after putting so many hours of writing and research into it? Is this a smart move, even if it’s only for a short while?

That’s a good question, and one I’ve pondered long and hard – usually around 3:00 a.m. when the marketing side of my brain wakes up specifically to annoy me with niggling little details. After a whole lot of insomnia, I very nearly chose to not to offer Paranormal Texas for free at all.

But then I launched the book, and online sales were slow (offline is another story!) So last Sunday, I arranged it so that Paranormal Texas is available for free from Sunday, October 12 through Wednesday, October 15.

Of course, the moment I sealed the deal, online sales picked up.

Hey, I’m not complaining, but what’s that all about?

Murphy’s Law? Maybe it’s because Halloween is around the corner? I don’t know! Whatever the case, as of yesterday both of my books, Unexpected Texas, and Paranormal Texas, were side-by-side in the #3 and #4 spaces on Amazon’s Best Seller’s list for Dallas – Fort Worth Travel.

Yippee!

Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie, Texas, (photo by Tui Snider)
Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie, Texas, (photo by Tui Snider)

My reasons for going free

So… back to the original question, why should an author offer their book for free on Amazon? Here are my personal reasons:

1. Later reviews appear as an Amazon verified purchase:
I sell a lot of paperbacks directly to people – way more than I do through the Amazon site. Since I purchase these books straight from CreateSpace, they don’t count towards my Amazon sales ranking. Still, some of these folks have told me they want to leave reviews on Amazon. If they have also downloaded a digital version, their review will show up as an Amazon verified purchase when the time comes – and a verified review always looks better than an unverified one.

2. Attract new readers:
Since the book is free, someone who is on the fence about what my books have to offer might take the plunge and buy one.

3. Spur more sales:
It sounds counterintuitive, but over and over I read about how offering a book for free helps boost subsequent sales.

4. Attract attention to other books:
Now that I have two books for sale, offering my newest one for free may help attract readers to my other book, Unexpected Texas.

Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie, Texas, (photo by Tui Snider)
Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie, Texas, (photo by Tui Snider)

Grab a Free copy of Paranormal Texas for yourself

If you’ve read this far, why don’t you go ahead, click this link and download Paranormal Texas for free for yourself!

Please leave a comment, too, if you decide to download the book. Makes me feel good. :)

Also, if you enjoy Paranormal Texas, I hope you will eventually leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads, as well. If you don’t enjoy it? Move along… there’s nothing to see here!

Filed Under: Blog on Writing & Life Tagged With: author, For Writers, free, free ebook, indie, kindle, kindlefreebooks, marketing, paranormal, paranormal texas, Tui Snider

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