T.J. BROWN BLOG
March, Tea and A Bloom in Winter
Greetings my totally righteous readers!
So I was all set to do a blog on branding and and ask a few questions from those who have read Summerset Abbey. But then things got complicated. Yes, insanity just reached a whole new level in my life.
Many of you know how I had four books due in less than a year and then I got cancer and had to go through treatments…No? Well, you can read a nice version of it here. (I say “nice” version because I have a much grittier version of the events coming out next week.)
Anyhoo, on March 28th I turned in the last book, did a happy dance and had expected to be able to breathe, but after successfully juggling and planning for the last 10 months, I ended up having a March to end all Marches. Here’s the breakdown:
- Writer’s Digest article due
- Revisions for two books due
- Three book signings (You can see where I’ll be here)
- Travel to San Francisco
- Book Launch of Summerset Abbey: A Bloom in Winter
And I have learned something really important about myself during the past year… I THRIVE on this stuff! Instead of feeling overwhelmed by all this, I got a shot of adrenaline. HOW SICK IS THAT? Now, granted, I will probably do a lot of whining, but now YOU know the TRUTH.
I am BAT SHIT CRAZY.
Okay, book launch.
Tomorrow, I’ll be participating in a Goddess Fish Book Blast in honor of the launch of my gorgeous book, A Bloom in Winter. In the morning, I’ll post all participating blogs to visit and one lucky poster will win this!
This is a 4 piece Whimsical Butterfly Tea set, handcrafted by artist April Cook. Made with white stoneware slip and painted with a unique, whimsical butterfly design in lime green and plum glaze. It is both dishwasher and microwave safe. The set includes a 32 oz. tea pot with lid, creamer and sugar bowl. (Sadly, only US commenters eligible to win it) You can see more of April’s work here.
Tea and Summerset Abbey books? How perfect is that? Good luck!
Click to Tweet
March, Tea, and tomorrow’s Summerset Abbey: A Bloom in Winter’s launch party! Check out @teribrownwrites blog at www.tjbrownbooks.com! (Click to Tweet!)
Calling All Book Clubs!
I attended my first book club meeting the other night as an author and not a participant. The experience was fantastic! I loved discussing Downton Abbey with others–hearing their enthusiasm and answering their questions. It was an experience I would love to repeat!
Unfortunately, as wonderful as it sounds, I can’t fly all over the country attending book clubs, so I came up with an alternative plan…
Free Skype visits with your book club!
The first five book clubs with five or more members who read Summerset Abbey and schedule a Skype visit with me will receive a prize basket from me containing:
- A package of specialty scone mix
- Earl Grey tea for each member
- A Devonshire cream recipe card, (Yummy on scones!)
- A small jar of specialty jam
- Various promotional items
Everything you need to have an old-fashioned, Edwardian book club meeting! Please email me for details at Teri(at)teribrownbooks(dot)com
Tweetables!
Calling All Book Clubs! Get a free Skype visit and prizes from @teribrownwrites author of Summerset Abbey! (click to tweet)
How your book club can win a Skype visit and prizes from @teribrownwrites! #summersetabbey (click to tweet)
Ten Reasons Why Downton Abbey Fans Should Read Summerset Abbey
By now most of us have watched the final episode of Downton Abbey and though the third season left most of us brokenhearted, we also know we’ll be tuning in next year. If you find time on your hands on Sunday night, and long for some good old fashioned Edwardian juiciness, I advise you to pick up Summerset Abbey, penned by moi. Why? I thought you would never ask. Let me count the ways.
- Summerset Abbey has the same juicy soapiness set in the same time period.
- Rose isn’t in Summerset Abbey. Not once.
- The description of the clothing is fantastic, if I do say so myself.
- There are three books in the series that will take you all the way to the next season of Downton Abbey. (Summerset Abbey, (available now), Summerset Abbey: A Bloom in Winter, (3/5), and Summerset Abbey: Spring Awakening, (8/15)
- There is no Dowager Countess like character because from now until the end of time there is no Dowager Countess except for Maggie Smith.
- Summerset Abbey is a pretty darn good book and is getting some amazing reviews.
- Summerset Abbey is a delicious concoction of adult, New Adult and historical detail all wrapped up in one book. The rest of the books are the same.
AND MOST IMPORTANT:
8.NO ONE DIES DURING SEX
9. OR IN CHILDBIRTH
10. OR IN A CAR WRECK.
Reason why #DowntonPBS fans should read Summerset Abbey by @teribrownwrites, NO ONE DIES IN A CAR ACCIDENT. www.tjbrownbooks.com (tweet this)
Reason why #Downtonabbey fans should read Summerset Abbey by @teribrownwrites, Rose isn’t in it. Not once! www.tjbrownbooks.com (tweet this)
Time Management 283
Why 283? Because I have a feeling I have tried 283 times to become more efficient. At least. Even before the electronic revolution, I would attempt to manage my time with my annual new year’s trip to the office supply store, which for me is almost a Julia Child like pilgrimage to Kitchen Kaboodle. HEAVEN. I would go into an orgy of delighted touching, feeling and smelling (yes, smelling) of planners. I couldn’t afford the really nice ones, but I would judge them as if I could. Then I would make my selection and take my new planner home, full of purpose and resolve. This year would be the year that I’d be on top of all the things! And that would last until mid January–February at the very longest. Then I would put my planner aside and go back to the happy pastime of procrastination.
I can’t do that anymore.
As an author I have lots and lots of deadlines. I have been given a chance to make a living and follow my dreams but in order to do so, I have to get serious about this time management stuff, because it doesn’t happen on its own. My books won’t miraculously finish themselves, the promoting and marketing doesn’t happen in a vacuum and I have yet to see the house clean itself, despite how many times I leave money out for the elves.
So I have become the keeper of lists. Master list, to track all the things. Weekly list, which is a rather optimistic account of what I can pack into a week and the daily list that tracks what I need to get done in a day to keep me from stepping off the proverbial time management cliff. But in spite of all my lists, I still felt as if I were a hamster on a wheel—running in circles without accomplishing much of anything. Oh, I was making my deadlines, but I still didn’t feel as if I were in charge. So I decided to change all that with some goal-oriented personal study. Shannon McKeldon, an amazing author and friend started a program of self study where she actually gave herself homework. This I could do. I started with a highly recommended book called Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy and Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt. Both books teach skills I desperately need to develop: managing my time and building my author’s platform.
Mark Twain once said that if the first thing you do each morning is eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that is probably the worst thing is going to happen to you all day long. Brian Tracy writes that your “frog” is your biggest , most important task, the one you are most likely to procrastinate on and is usually the one that will have the greatest positive impact on your day and life. So I look at my list and start with the toughest one, which in my case is usually a word count goal or a revision page goal. If I can get that one out of the way, the weight off my shoulders allows me to whiz right through the rest of the list. It has made a huge difference in my daily productivity.
From Platform by Michael Hyatt, I’m learning how to create and market a WOW product and what that means. In my case, my wow products need to be my books and the workshops and seminars I’m developing.
I have also learned that I really need to keep developing my skill set. This year, I plan on attending Toastmasters, attending at least one writing intensive and reading daily on the craft of writing. Does anyone have any great writing book recommendations? I am working through The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron and have most of Natalie Goldberg’s books. What else should I add to my library?
Life after Downton Abbey
As promised here is a post of what you can do to fill the Downton void!
Read Summerset Abbey and Summerset Abbey: A Bloom in Winter. They’re great books in the same era. (You didn’t think I would start out a blog on Downton alternatives without mentioning my own books did you?) And the covers are lovely. They’re in the sidebar on the right. Go look at them, I’ll wait. Gorgeous, right?
Okay, that’s done. Time for me to talk about some other Downton-esque books and movies you might enjoy.
The Typewriter Girl by Alison Atlee
When Betsey disembarks from the London train in the seaside resort of Idensea, all she owns is a small valise and a canary in a cage. After attempting to forge a letter of reference she knew would be denied her, Betsey has been fired from the typing pool of her previous employer. Her vigorous protest left one man wounded, another jilted, and her character permanently besmirched. Now, without money or a reference for her promised job, the future looks even bleaker than the debacle behind her. But her life is about to change . . . because a young Welshman on the railroad quay, waiting for another woman, is the one man willing to believe in her.
Mr. Jones is inept in matters of love, but a genius at things mechanical. In Idensea, he has constructed a glittering pier that astounds the wealthy tourists. And in Betsey, he recognizes the ideal tour manager for the Idensea Pier & Pleasure Building Company. After a lifetime of guarding her secrets and breaking the rules, Betsey becomes a force to be reckoned with. Now she faces a challenge of another sort: not only to outrun her sins, but also to surrender to the reckless tides of love…
A Room With a View by EM Forster
Both the book and the movie are luscious visual feasts.
The Far Pavilions by MM Kaye. Though this book isn’t an Edwardian, it is a gorgeous historical that will appeal to anyone who loves epic, sweeping, historical tales.
Researching the Downton Abbey Lifestyle
I never thought I would write historical. Not that I don’t love historical fiction, I do. As a child, books like Little Women, The Maud Reed Tale and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, had a huge impact on my desire to become a writer. So perhaps it is only natural that after the publication of my contemporary YA, (Read My Lips, 2008), most of the ideas that came to me were historical.
But the research scared me. During my school years, I didn’t do that well in history…mostly because while I loved reading the text books, history was all about the stories to me, not the facts or the dates. I enjoyed comparing the similarities and differences in the lives of people who lived in other time periods, not debating the importance of individual events. And, okay, I’ll admit it— I wasn’t that great at the teacher’s nit-picky insistence that I hand my work in on time. (Thankfully, I’ve become a lot better about that whole deadline thing.)
When I think of research, I think of serious people sitting in quiet libraries with giant books on the desks in front of them. I think of dedicated authors going to obscure places to gain access to hallowed historical archives.
I’m so not that person. I like loud football parties, rock concerts and playing Apples to Apples with my friends.
Luckily for me, the Internet has changed research and most of what I needed was at my fingertips. The problem wasn’t finding good, solid information—it was retaining, tracking and disseminating the information I found in a way that enhanced the story.
One website I kept running into during my research for Summerset Abbey, was The Edwardian Promenade, (www.edwardianpromenade.com). Whoever was behind the website was a genius at all things Edwardian. I dug deeper and found Evangeline Holland, a fellow writer who about to give a four week course on the Edwardian era. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect because I was just preparing to write Summerset Abbey. The class was fantastic and she handed out tons of resources, both primary (having been written during the time period) and secondary, (having been written after the time period, about the time period). Her input was so invaluable; I ended up hiring her as a fact checker. I adore her. (Disclaimer: Any facts wrong in the manuscript are my fault, no doubt committed during the revising process, and not hers!)
As far as keeping track of all the details? I used a combination of Scrivener, (a writing program for writers) to track online research, a carefully annotated notebook for research taken from books, and of course, the ever popular sticky note method. Guess which method best suited my scattered haphazard brain? Sticky notes cover my monitor!
The upshot of my research advice? Do what works for you and have fun doing it. If it isn’t fun—if you can’t lose hours of your life in the research—then maybe you shouldn’t be doing it. I can’t organize worth a damn, but the research itself is pure heaven!
Marketing, Publicity, and Relationships
As I wander deeper and deeper into the world of book marketing and publicity, I get the feeling that I’m spinning my wheels. I am going where authors have gone before and feel as if I am offering very little that is new or unique. I have good books. My product, according to the reviews, my editor, my agent and my mother is good. So how do I sell the book? How do I get noticed in a world that is filled with noisy people yelling, “Look at me, look at me.” Yelling louder isn’t really an option for me. It makes me uncomfortable and I am not sure it’s effective. Besides, it makes my throat hurt.
One thing I have learned is that marketing and publicity are built on relationships. Last week, Jane Porter invited me to be her special guest at a reader’s tea here in Portland. She did that because we had a relationship that dates back about eight years. Last Wednesday. I had another media event fall in my lap because of a relationship I have with entrepreneur and 30 Second Mom founder, Elisa All. I’ve known Elisa for even longer than Jane, about ten years or so. The #30secondmom Twitter chat garnered me even more publicity and followers. Will that result in readers? I believe so. But these opportunities were the result of relationships, not vocal sales pitches.
I have built trust with these people. I am not using them simply to sell books. My association with them goes far deeper. As I write this blog, I am forging new relationships and though some of them have stemmed from the business of blogging, selling and producing, they are like friendships in that they are based on mutual respect. Am I wrong in thinking that friendship, respect and business can go hand in hand? Am I being naive?
For instance, yesterday I was interviewed by a media chica yesterday who writes for lifestyle blogs and online magazines. Smart, savvy, funny and a good writer—all things I admire. I met her online and now she is doing a story on me that may garner me more followers, readers, sales. But that isn’t what struck me about the conversation, rather, it was how fun and natural it was. This wasn’t just a business conversation for me— I wasn’t selling: I was connecting.
Sales, marketing, publicity, platform, brand, etc., are all sales terms that I’ll be delving into much more deeply in the coming months. I’m starting a marketing group with several authors to explore some of these ideas and more, and plan on taking several online classes concerning these topics. I am confident I will be able to find a marketing rhythm and style that is not only effective, but uniquely my own. And happily, I am starting in a place that is comfortable for me.
Relationships.
Blurring the Lines
Like most writer’s I know, I work from home. As I write this, it’s nine AM and I’m still in my pajamas and robe and contemplating whether I should take the time to make a decent breakfast with the appropriate protein/veggie/carb ratio or if I should just bolt a big bowl of sugar cereal. (Does Applejack’s count as a fruit?)
Now don’t get me wrong, I love working from home and I only feel a little bit of guilt when I realize I haven’t left the house in three days or haven’t showered in two. (Hey, I’m under deadline, don’t judge!)But I find that the longer I work at home, the more the lines between work and home get blurred. For example my to do list for the day:
Work on blog
Revise four chapters
Write illustrator back
Make green juice
Write new blog
Work on synopsis for new proposal
Vacuum
Choose and order promo swag
Ask Tracy where she gets her veggie seeds
Go over twitter chat post
Take review books to post office (oh, god, I have to leave the house!)
Make vet appointment for Ducky
Workout (This has been on my daily list for three weeks and I have been able to cross it off once. ONCE!)
Take out chicken for dinner
See? My life is blurred into a long list of OVERWHELMED.
I already work from three lists, Master, Weekly and Daily. They are a mishmash of things that have to be done in both my personal life and my work life. Does this increase the anxiety or should I separate them? The thought of adding another list to mix totally freaks me out. It might help if I had an office, but I don’t like the thought of being isolated from the rest of the family so I work in my dining-room. (I ditched the table and put in a desk years ago). Perhaps this increases the blur, I don’t know.
Perhaps in reality, even though combined to do lists overwhelm me, my writing life and my personal life are too intertwined in my mind to be separated. I’m a big picture person, maybe compartmentalizing my life into separate boxes simply won’t work for me and I am searching for a seamless balance between the three things in my life I have decided are priorities… my health, my relationships and my writing.
So while I envy those people who have a separate office and keep separate lists, I don’t think I will ever be that person. Do you guys keep everything separate? Do you think it increases anxiety or lessons it? I’m always looking for ways to hone the system!
Platform Building Blog on the Run
Don’t have time for a “real” blog so I’m going to do some totally unrelated bullet points and call it a day. Besides, I have been reading about successful platform building and apparently no one has the attention span to read a whole blog anymore (which makes me wonder why I am selling a COMPLETE BOOK, but whatevs). So here is my stab and building a freaking platform, which is a term I find kind of stupid anyway and makes me think of diving pools or seventies shoes, but again, whatevs! I am too frantically busy today to worry about it. So without further ado…
- Downton Abbey last night. My God.
- Do successful people ever sleep? I wanna know because I have no idea how I am supposed to develop and nurture relationships, write my books, publicize my books, workout, care for hearth and home, change the world, floss and get the eight hours of sleep all the doctors tell you you’re supposed to get?
- For the love of God, people, go buy my book.
- I may have some fabulous news to share soon of the publishing kind.
- Alex Guarnaschelli, is the shiz in the kitchen and she loves Downton Abbey. As an obsessed home cook, (It became my creative outlet once writing became my day job) I am a total fan girl. And we were sort of connected in the same tweet that someone retweeted, so now I have a tweet in the twitterverse totally linking us together for posterity. Sigh. And I should totally get points for spelling Guarnaschelli correctly.
- Did I mention you need to go buy my book? Summerset Abbey, available at a fine retail store near you. read more…
Promotional Musings
So the Summerset Abbey blog tour continues. I now know why authors say only do three weeks maximum–it’s because it’s difficult to keep up energy and momentum for that length of time. I’ve learned a great deal from the launch of Summerset Abbey concerning publicity and most of this I will be writing into sort of a report to myself. Things I don’t want to forget for the next launch which is in less than two months. *panics*
First off, I have learned to think both locally and nationally. Not only what can I do to promote my book locally, (visits, signings, book clubs, etc.), but nationally, as well, (reaching out to librarians, Skype, getting to know prominent independent booksellers.) I have also learned that I need to pace my efforts… we will see how successful I am at this in the coming weeks. But looking at my calendar, my question should be: How can I sell xxx number of books, that week?
I can see that some weeks are more promo heavy than other weeks. For instance, in the second week of February, I am doing a big promotional blog give away, am the special guest at a reader’s tea given by bestselling author, Jane Porter, and am participating in a twitter chat and give away for 30 Second Mom. That’s awesome for the second week, but what about the first week of February or the third? How can I sell xxx number of books, that week?
One idea is to do mailings that week, both email and snail mail. Another is to form a marketing group with four or five other published authors and hold meetings to exchange ideas. I could also reach out to authors whose books are similar to mine. Will it be successful? Who knows! I just know that marketing and promoting your book is far better than refreshing your numbers every fifteen minutes!
So what do you think? How will you sell books this week? Or if you’re a reader, what gets you interested in a book?
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