“The Next Big Thing” blog hop introduces readers to new books and authors.  I’m honored and excited to have been invited to participate by Jessica McCann, author of All Different Kinds of Free. published by my very own publisher, Bell Bridge Books.

First, a bit about Jessica’s book, and then I’ll share some insights on my debut novel and work in progress. At the end of the post, I’ll introduce you to two more wonderful authors who will carry the torch for this blog hop.

All Different Kinds of Free was inspired by a true story. It is about Margaret Morgan, who was kidnapped in 1837, along with her free children, and sold into slavery. Although she fought hard to regain her freedom, Margaret endured tremendous loss and hardship. Her ordeal led to one of the most important yet least-known Supreme Court cases of the era, Prigg v. Pennsylvania.

I’ve read All Different Kinds of Free and found it touching and heart-breaking, its character Margaret a soul to admire. You find yourself playing what if, wondering how you would function, nay, breathe and continue to live, in such a situation.A nice debut novel by Ms. McCann. Available on audio as well.

Now . . . let’s talk about Lowcountry Bribe and what author C. Hope Clark has going on!!

What is the working title of your book? My debut novel is titled Lowcountry Bribe and was published February 2012. It’s the first in The Carolina Slade Mystery Series, and there are more in the works. Book two in the series is entitled Tidewater Murder and is expected out in April 2013.

Where did the idea come from for the book? Lowcountry Bribe originated in concept and in fact because of an actual bribery attempt on me, when I worked for the Federal government as a loan manager. The event was stressful for me, and I took that moment in my life, performed a lot of what ifs and developed a plot I’m proud of. No, I’m not Carolina Slade, but we’ve walked parallel, hand in hand, for a good number of years now, to the point I am intimately familiar with her character and all of her best supporting actors. The other books in the series spin off these same characters, losing some and adding others. No one in Slade’s stories is exempt from trauma.

What genre does your book fall under? My novels are mystery or suspense, with just enough flavor of romantic suspense to make it interesting.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? Carolina Slade reports a bribery attempt only to have the case go sour during the sting, authorities leaving her on her own to face the culprit, placing her job, her life, and even her children in danger.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? My first two novels are represented by the Dreisbach Literary Agency and published by Bell Bridge Books.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? My first draft of Lowcountry Bribe took two years of writing after work and on weekends, but I took over a decade more to fine tune it and see it in print. Tidewater Murder took about two years to write the draft as well as edit, so I’m getting better!

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? My stories have been called a marriage between the tight, terse writing of Janet Evanovich and the straight-forward mystery spinning efforts of Sue Grafton. But my writing is rather clipped, which is my favorite feature of Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum tales, but it favors the seriousness of Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone stories.

 What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? The book introduces readers to the Inspector Generals, an arm of Federal law enforcement that few know about. The US Department of Agriculture comes into play in my books, and believe it or not, USDA has its own Inspector General’s Office . . . federal agents just like FBI who specialize in agricultural crime. All my stories take place in the awesome beauty of rural South Carolina, and therefore, brings in feds that understand the environment. I have a degree in Agriculture from Clemson University and worked cases in almost all of the 46 counties of the state. I like using that inherent knowledge in the tales. From the foothills of the Upstate to the marshes along the Lowcountry coast, Carolina Slade will show that secrets abide and crime runs dark even in the country.

Let’s get hopping!

 I invite you to get to know the following talented and inspiring authors by hopping over to their websites and checking out their books. Trust me, I’ve read their work and wouldn’t endorse them unless I loved them. And they’ll suggest a couple of authors they love . . . and so on.

Elizabeth Boyce is author of Once a Dutchess, a Regency romance published by Crimson Romance. As a critique partner of Ms. Boyce, I’ve seen some remarkable writing come from this debut author, and I expect huge success from her. Smart, smart writing.

Marilee Brothers is author of Allie Emerson’s supernatural life. Midnight Moon is the fifth and final in that series and just came out a few days ago.YA fun fiction with a touch of magic.

Glen Allison is author of the Tortured Hero Series, and in his new upcoming release, Snafu, the author takes his protagonist Al Forte, a professional bodyguard for children, into a dark world that touches upon his painful past. Love this character.

Enjoy these new authors and hope you enjoyed this little visit into Lowcountry Bribe.

NOTE FROM HOPE: Today we have as our guest, Nina Amir, the author of 
How to Blog a Book: Write, Publish, and Promote Your Work One Post at a Time published by Writer’s Digest Books. Who doesn’t want to know how to monetize a blog, so I invited her to enlighten you guys. Give her a warm welcome.

—

How Writers Can Earn More Money as Bloggers
By Nina Amir

You may consider blogging as extra work that takes you away from writing. However, blogging actually provides you with another way to create an income as a writer. In fact, as a writer you are uniquely equipped to become a successful blogger and to monetize your blog.

My blogs, for example, help me earn more money in a variety of ways. I wrote a book on my blog, composing the first draft post by post and publishing it on the Internet. In the process, I became the expert on this topic and my blog achieved #1 Google search engine page result status. The manuscript I produced was sold to Writer’s Digest Books and released as How to Blog a Book: Write, Publish, and Promote Your Work One Post at a Time. I received an advance and now receive royalties.

The expert status I’ve earned from that blog and blog-to-book deal have given me the ability to offer blogging and blog-to-book coaching and consulting services. I also sell related products, teach courses and speak on this topic. All of these streams of income, while not writing per se, have become part of my current income as a writer.

You, too, can monetize your blog into written and non-written products.

First, blogging a book is the easiest and fastest way to write a book and promote it at the same time. And you can blog many books. It took me five months to blog the first draft of How to Blog a Book but only ten days to blog 10 Days and 10 Ways to Return to Your Best Self, which I then self-published. You can easily blog several books over the next year if you wanted to do so. For many indie authors, ebook sales represent a large income stream.

A successful blog—one with lots of readers—on a focused topic makes it easier for you to get more paid writing work. As you become the expert on your topic, magazines and newspapers are more likely to accept your queries—and you can command more pay for those articles. Additionally, your blog readership contributes to your author platform, which convinces publishers you are a good publishing partner; that means you deserve a book contract and a larger advance.

 Your blog platform helps sell your self-published books. 

The more you blog readership increases, the more money you make. You can:

• Sell more books
• Enroll more participants in coaching programs
• Register more participants in classes and courses
• Attract more customers and clients
• Become a more attractive publishing partner for a traditional publisher
• Increase your chances of getting paid assignments on major magazines in your subject areas
• Speak for pay
• Put advertising on your blog (and actually make money from it)
• Promote affiliate products

All of these items represent ways to monetize a blog. Not all of them involve writing, but they do result in increased income from your blogging. Remember, blogging is, indeed, writing.

About the Author

Nina Amir, Inspiration-to-Creation Coach, inspires people to combine their purpose and passion so they Achieve More Inspired Results. She motivates both writers and non-writers to create publishable and published products, careers as authors and to achieve their goals and fulfill their purpose. Nina is the author of the bestselling How to Blog a Book, Write, Publish and Promote Your Work One Post at a Time (Writer’s Digest Books). You can sign up for a free author, book or blog-to-book coaching session with Nina or receive her FREE 5-Day Published Author Training Series by visiting www.copywrightcommunications.com. For more information on Nina, go to www.ninaamir.com.

Hah, bet you thought I was going to say “Show me yours and I’ll show you mine,” didn’t you? Nope. Actually, I was just introduced to something called Pimp and Promote at Writers in the Storm Blog and the simple concept set me afire!

Today this is your chance you brag about something writing related here, on my blog. Your blog? Your new book? A speaking engagement? What have you done you’re proud of? Again, must be about your writing!

But the catch is this . . . you have to promote someone else, too! A blog, new release, new author, favorite author, a magazine feature . . . give someone a hand and promote him, too.

Let’s call it . . .  PUSH and PRAISE.

PUSH meaning you’re pushing your own efforts

PRAISE meaning, duh, you’re praising someone else’s.

For instance:

PUSH – I have several online guest opportunities this week.

• One at Write Now! Mastermind on Wed, September 26 at Noon Central / 1PM Eastern.
• The other is on Friday, September 28, at a women’s blog called FriendfortheRide.
• And  yet another blog post at Romance University on Friday, September 28 on Love and the Crime Fiction Sleuth (had a lot of fun with this one).

PRAISE - I follow a quaint yet intelligent blog called Bluestocking Ball. Elizabeth Boyce is a new author, and her posts are so smart! She’s a historical romance author with three books under contract with Crimson Romance. She’s just getting off the ground. Isn’t her cover gorgeous?

So, tell us your PUSH & PRAISE for this week!

No, this isn’t about writing a beginning, middle and ending to a blog post. It’s not about headlines, bullets and pictures. Go ahead . . . list all the three things you’ve ever heard of when it comes to blogging lessons, or how to be a great blogger, and you won’t know what I’m about to say.

I’m not trying to teach you how to blog for a living, but I want you to utilize blogging to the best of your ability so that the practice best promotes your writing. Whether a novelist, poet, screenwriter, hobbyist, how-to guru, or public speaker who sells books in the back of the room, blogging is now a mandatory tool to have in your toolbox.

1. Manage your blog well.

There is no magic number. Some, like Justine Musk (one of my favs), write weekly. Jeff Goins blogs daily. I strive for three times a week – just long enough to be remembered and missed at the same time, IMHO. But whatever you choose, stick to it.

Make sure your heart is in your post. If you can’t write with passion and heart because you’re posting too often, then cut back, but hopefully at least weekly. Take notes throughout your day, noting flashes of your brilliance as they dart by. Don’t feel badly about penning four of five posts at once, then scheduling over a week or two.

Answer comments to your posts. People are more inclined to leave messages if you respond. Do so with thought, too, and not a simple “thanks.”

2. Guest post with style. . . and a plan.

Find blogs that compliment yours, in which you can match your skill-set and offer wisdom or entertainment to another blogger’s readers. Do this as often as you wish, knowing that the more you do, the more attention you bring back to your blog.

How do you find them? Study the lists of blogs placed on blogs you read, usually down the far left or right of the page. Do simple searches in WordPress.com or Blogger.com . Study profiles on Facebook pages. Read the bios at the end of features, essays, or short stories. Then pitch them as you would any other freelance assignment. Yes, a few pay, but most don’t. You’re striving for a current, a stream that carries people from other blogs to yours.

Write for them as if you were being paid 50 cents/word. Quality attracts readers and thrills blog owners to invite you back.

3. Comment intelligently.

Comments are like crack to bloggers. Lack of comments can throw a gray cloud on their day. Learn to leave a comment in response to half the blogs you read.  First,  it’s just good manners; hey, you just read free material someone slaved over.

Secondly, think hard before you comment. Make your comment count, sounding intelligent, funny, or highly informed. “Love it” or “thanks” just don’t do anything for anyone. It’s pleasant, but the writer has no idea what you loved or what you liked. Instead, leave a meaty remark, showing you indeed digested the topic. You want the blog owner to be intrigued . . . maybe enough to invite you back, or promote you himself. Every blog owner loves a regular follower.

Thirdly, leave your calling card. Not just in the form blocks provided, because those aren’t posted for general view, but within the comment itself. You want people to know your website, blog or email. You want them to follow you. You want the blog owner to get in touch. You want searches to find you at all these places you’ve left your mark.

Blogs are mighty tools, but like using the butt of a screwdriver to drive a nail, if you don’t use blogs wisely, they just don’t do the job as well as they could.

Romance writer Elizabeth Boyce (some agent needs to NAB this girl, she’s great!) posts the most interesting ideas on her blog, and I slow down to take a moment to read each one. Just included her on my recent webinar with Writer’s Digest, Platform the Backdoor Way, where I try to explain to people how to start their platform from scratch, before they have that novel or portfolio full of clips. Elizabeth is the perfect example of becoming an expert in her genre before she lands her contract. I know her well enough to know she only wants to publish traditionally, and there’s no doubt in my mind she’s of the calibre to do it . . . and will ultimately do so.

Anyway, I digress. In her most recent post on Bluestocking Ball,  entitled Speak No Evil, Or; Learning When to Shut Your Mouth, Elizabeth speaks about bashing. One involves writing online about all those nasty editors and agents who reject and don’t respond or accept something you think is less in quality than your own. I’m all about that . . . not bashing and not identifying people online in a condescending manner. You become remembered in that light. There are some people who post on a couple of list groups I belong to, who can be negative and have snubbed me for being novice. I’ll never bash them using their names, but I will never promote them, use word-of-mouth to help their sales, or buy their books. They are done in my eyes . . . there are just too many other authors out there, working just as hard, who have manners.

But the other bashing Elizabeth mentions is one I never thought of. In the hurry to appease the pain of a fellow writer who’s been rejected, we often slight the agent, editor or publisher, as if they were complete idiots in their profession. True, we’re trying to stroke the ego and feelings of a friend, but does that really help the friend? Chances are the manuscript needed rejecting, and why put down someone simply doing his/her job?

When responding to a despondent writer who’s been painfully rejected, consider comments like:

1. So sorry to hear that. Keep trying with other agents/editors. Sometimes it just takes the right timing and the right match.

2. How many rejections? Why not back off the rejections and go over the manuscript one more time? I’d be happy to help.

3. Why don’t you rewrite the query letter from scratch and give it a fresh look? Maybe it needs more flavor. I’d be happy to help.

But don’t say the editor or agent was a jerk. While there are yucky souls in every profession, to include the publishing industry, doing the dirty task of rejecting those manuscripts that are less than stellar or a poor match at the moment doesn’t reflect on the rejector’s character.  And you might be doing your friend a disservice giving him an excuse from going back and making his writing better.

I walk away from many writing events exhilarated . . . at other times crushed. And it scares the be-Jeesus out of me not knowing which emotion will rule me when I finish and leave.

And it frustrates the hell out of me being so uncertain of myself.

Each time I step behind a podium, a mic, even a telephone if the interview is long-distance, I have a plan, a rehearsed plan. I have passion, no doubt about that. I’m doing what I love to do, often wishing there were more hours in the day so I could do more, perform better, deliver more profoundly to those I hope to serve. Write more.

There aren’t enough hours, days, or years to complete the stories I wish to write, or deliver my passion to the world to such a a degree that everybody I touch “gets it.” I find that so important . . . passion. It pains me when I don’t connect, and it pains me more to see writers going through the motions instead of jumping, dancing arms wide, being writers with something to say, wanting people to read their work so badly that they sometimes make fools of themselves. I would rather buy a book or read an article from somebody who trips on his feet, stumbles his words, or mixes a metaphor, and then laughs at himself, than I would the person who stoically follows the rules, shows the way to their book, then leaves the room, leaving nothing of themselves behind.

However, I think the worst pain of all to a writer is silence.

The silence of no questions from the room. The silence of no comments on a blog post. The silence of no ReTweets. The lack of likes on Facebook. The lack of reviews. Less than stellar sales. We all know some of these.  Hopefully nobody knows them all. That’s sad when you try and wait . . . and are left waiting. Maybe that’s why some leave quickly, stoically, afraid to see nobody has questions.

Such silence can make a writer choke on self-doubt, even shove them toward quitting. Why do writers feel ashamed when others don’t read them? It’s failure on an extremely high level, and we often quietly “disappear into that good night.”

We’d rather be rejected, have something  proactively to address, gnaw on, or refute. Even booing is a response. Give us a bone, for God’s sake.

But that silence . . . oh God that silence.

Writing should be my voice, the page my podium.

But it’s not. Not in this world where noise is required before you can be seen and then make your point. So just remember this:

== When you read a book, write a review . . . somewhere. Leave your thank you for the writer who dared expose his heart and oh-so-sensitive soul to you.

==When you read a blog post that is smart, touching, witty, or informative, leave a comment. Or forward it, Tweet it, FB mention it. Again, thank the person for daring to show personality to a very critical world.

==When you hear a writer speak, watch him, follow him, then clap madly at the end. Ask a question, just so he knows you listened. Thank him for being there . . . for being him . . . for giving to you.

Some may wonder what’s brought such a melancholy post, but the fact is, I’m writing for so many who’ve confided in me about one of these points or another. Maybe the latest email just pushed me far enough. So many silently hurt, almost physically, at the platform effort, dog-and-pony show we’re forced to endure, even if only online.

I want to tell them to DARE!

I want to tell them to APPRECIATE DARING in others!

I want people to feel better, try with passion, and know that every time they receive silence in response to their effort, thousands others understand. Keep trying.

Dare NOT to be silent, no matter which side of the podium you’re on. Appreciate each other. The passion, talent, and success spewed into the world would be astounding.

I am participating in the Writer Mama Every-Day-In-May Book Giveaway

I quit counting the number of people who’ve sent me information about their latest release, then said they had no website or blog, but I could Google them and learn all I needed.

You’ve heard of the Cloud, right? I’m the last person to get technical about the Internet, but imagine everybody’s presence in that “cloud.” You have no website and no blog. In all those names floating around, yours is teeny weeny little, in scattered places. Nobody goes directly to you. You’re at the mercy of other sites, yet they have no way to link to you in other than a mention, and maybe a link to Amazon. No growth potential.

This makes for a lousy first impression. Let’s see how this comes across to others:

1. You do not care about the reader.

Without giving the reader a clean, crisp, easy place to land and learn about you, and whatever you do, he has to Google and search other sites. Trust me . . . as fickle as online surfers are, the search will be promptly abandoned.

2. You do not respect the Internet.

In this day and time, that’s interpreted as out of touch. When half the readers in the United States are reading their books on electronic devices, out-of-touch is a kiss of death.

3. You don’t care about your product.

Lack of promotion means you wrote it for you and the friends and family around you, unconcerned if others will take an interest. If you aren’t interested in sweating over the promotion of your work, then you possibly can’t care if it sells. So . . . why should anyone bother reading it?

Of course, nobody I’ve spoken to feels this way. They worked hard on their story, love it when readers enjoy it, and they don’t understand or don’t have time for the Internet. However, unless they have a unique method of selling their work otherwise, they best get on board the Web. They best create a website or blog to serve as  a starting point. And they best learn that readers watch the “cloud.”

There are just too many great books out there these days to think readers will just gravitate to yours. Make it easy for people to find you. Start and finish with your readers by establishing a home base.

 . . . and you’re looking for a good book. I asked readers recently where they went for information about what books to buy.  OMG, no two answers were alike! If you’re a writer trying to place your book in the public’s eye, such untrending answers can be unnerving. After all, authors only have 24 hours in a day, and there’s no way we can be everywhere in selling our babies.

How people decide to buy a good book:

1. Word-of-mouth.

No way you can be in everyone’s mouth, but this is the most common answer. And you can’t spread the word about your new release overnight. Tell one new person per day about your book. Think of it that way. Each person usually tells at least two if not a dozen more. No math necessary. The number grows. That’s all you need to know. This is how most books sell.

2. Stars at Amazon and B&N.

Reviews. Those elusive diamonds we authors so crave and struggle to achieve. Readers flock to these ratings to make decisions about their book purchases, but they don’t necessarily leave reviews themselves. As I said in the title . . . Let’s Say You’re a Reader. Why aren’t you leaving reviews? You don’t have to be a world-renown publisher or editor to leave a review and mark those stars.

3. Goodreads.

I’ve recently (the last six months) started paying attention to Goodreads. It’s cozy. It’s informative. It’s fairly easy to navigate (though I’m still figuring out some of the tricks). And it’s chocked full of rabid readers who know what they like. They have great influence on each other’s reading choices. . . and ultimately book sales.

4. Book Reviews.

NYTimes or local newspapers or certain well-known blogs, readers still love book reviews. That amazes me since most newspapers don’t see the need for book reviews, or limit themselves to books already on the NYT Bestseller list. Brainless and rather incestuous, in my opinion. The point here is that readers still want to know what other readers thought about a book before he buys it. It’s word-of-mouth in writing. Since we all can’t get on these major review lists, go to the blog reviewers online and start making the rounds with requests to review your book.

5. Browsing Book Stores.

Okay. Tough love here. If you self publish . . . and especially if you use a vanity press . . . forget this one. It isn’t happening. Self-publish if you like. No negatives from me on your choice, but just know that you will not be putting that baby on a bookstore shelf anytime soon.

A lot of factors play in to book-buying decisions like opening lines, book jacket blurbs and book cover art, but you have to get a reader’s attention first before they get so far as knowing the book exists.

So, having a book, and even having it on Amazon, doesn’t sell books. Overwhelmingly, word-of-mouth sells books. As a writer, start spreading the word . . . each and every day. As a reader, help spread the word with chatter, texts, blogs, messaging, and yes, reviews on Amazon. BN and Goodreads. Be proactive as a reader, and you help the good writers of the world make a difference.

More info: How Do You Choose Your Books, by Beyond the Margins

For some reasons, writers are notorious for spouting what they won’t do when it comes to honoring their profession,

== I won’t self-publish.
== I won’t pay an entry fee for a contest.
== I won’t write for free.
== I won’t wrote for less than ten cents/word.
== I won’t do Facebook.
== I won’t travel to self-promote.
== I don’t have time to blog.

As a previous administrative director, which meant one of my departments was human resources, I used to tell people never to put what you couldn’t do on a resume. Now, as a writer, I advise others in my profession to only talk positive in a query.

Don’t say you are retired which can insinuate fixed income, limited resources, or inability to travel to young eyes. Instead of saying retired, say you write full-time and your  time is your own to promote and write.
Don’t say you are a new writers without clips. Instead talk about your strengths and knowledge about the subject matter being pitched.

Don’t say you are fresh out of school trying to find your place. Say you have a degree and propose you have the qualities that would make for a good employee, columnist, freelance contributor.

It isn’t about what you won’t do. You define yourself too tightly and tell the world that you can be narrow-minded. You also tout your weaknesses in many people’s perspectives, and in this day of rampant competition, you want to be remembered for who you are, not what you aren’t.

Instead, state what you PREFER to do. Hear how pro-active and positive that sounds?

You prefer wholesome writing (you are not anti-erotica).
You like contests (you aren’t anti-entry fee).
You promote heavily online and in your region (you aren’t anti-travel).
You maintain a website (you aren’t anti-blog).

Ears perk up when you define what you aren’t, but that’s how people cull who’s in their world. Nobody likes negative. You might be selective, but let your positive choices drive your image, not the negative. Be remembered as the one wearing the white hat.