Writing Ideas - New Novel, part x165, It’s Finished, more Presence Internet Marketing

20 June 2017, Writing Ideas - New Novel, part x165, It’s Finished, more Presence Internet Marketing

Announcement: Delay, my new novels can be seen on the internet, but the publisher has delayed all their fiction output due to the economy.  I'll keep you informed.  More information can be found at www.ancientlight.com.  Check out my novels--I think you'll really enjoy them.

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

The four plus one basic rules I employ when writing:

1. Don't confuse your readers.

2. Entertain your readers.

3. Ground your readers in the writing.

4. Don't show (or tell) everything.

     4a. Show what can be seen, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted on the stage of the novel.

5. Immerse yourself in the world of your writing.

These are the steps I use to write a novel including the five discrete parts of a novel:

 

1.      Design the initial scene

2.      Develop a theme statement (initial setting, protagonist, protagonist’s helper or antagonist, action statement)

a.       Research as required

b.      Develop the initial setting

c.       Develop the characters

d.      Identify the telic flaw (internal and external)

3.      Write the initial scene (identify the output: implied setting, implied characters, implied action movement)

4.      Write the next scene(s) to the climax (rising action)

5.      Write the climax scene

6.      Write the falling action scene(s)

7.      Write the dénouement scene

I finished writing my 28^th novel, working title, School, potential title Deirdre: Enchantment and the School.  The theme statement is: Sorcha, the abandoned child of an Unseelie and a human, secretly attends Wycombe Abbey girls’ school where she meets the problem child Deirdre and is redeemed.  

Here is the cover proposal for Deirdre: Enchantment and the School. 

Cover Proposal

The most important scene in any novel is the initial scene, but eventually, you have to move to the rising action. I continued writing my 29^th novel, working title Red Sonja.  I finished my 28^th novel, working title School.  If you noticed, I started on number 28, but finished number 29 (in the starting sequence—it’s actually higher than that).  I adjusted the numbering.  I do keep everything clear in my records.  I’ll be providing information on the marketing materials and editing.

How to begin a novel.  Number one thought, we need an entertaining idea.  I usually encapsulate such an idea with a theme statement.  Since I’m writing a new novel, we need a new theme statement.  Here is an initial cut.

 

For novel 29:  Red Sonja, a Soviet spy, infiltrates the X-plane programs at Edwards AFB as a test pilot’s administrative clerk, learns about freedom, and is redeemed.

 

First, you write and write and write until you are competent and someone finally accepts one of your novels for publication. 

 

Second, you keep writing. 

 

Third, you market. 

 

Fourth, you keep writing with the hope your marketing and your writing will finally come to fruition. 

 

Fifth, you market.

 

I’m moving to marketing my newest novel.  Here is some basic information from the long and short form.        

 

Title of Work:

 

Deirdre: Enchantment and the School

 

Author(s) Name:

 

L. D. Alford

 

Type: Either Screenplay or Book

 

Book

 

Length: Either # of words for books, or # of pages for screenplays

 

120,975 words

 

Keywords and Market Focus:

 

Fiction, friendship, Wycombe Abbey, school, boarding, education, training, boyfriends, Eton, diva, skills, shooting, fencing, fae, fairy, Britain, spy, goddess, Dagda, magic; will fascinate anyone interested in friendship, boarding schools, magic, and the fae—will appeal particularly to those who enjoy mystery and suspense novels.

 

Genre:

 

Historical Suspense

 

The trick in creating internet and therefore marketing presence is to be active on the internet.  Activity means blogs, writing, twitter, facebook, google circles, plus a host of author sites.  Except for very specific marketing through google, amazon, or facebook, all of this stuff should be free.  I have accomplished some specified marketing promotions mostly on facebook, but with limited success.  I have used the free amazon seller’s connections and webtools.  They aren’t very lucrative either.  I think the most powerful connection is book cards and word of mouth.  I’ll get to those tomorrow. 

 

Today, I want to mention some other ways of promoting your title and yourself.  I already mentioned a few.  These can be tied to your blog—thus when a blog update goes out so does a tweet, a facebook link, a linkedin update, and etc.  Every day, my blogs generate one of these connections.  That makes three blogs times three plus the blogs themselves.  That means I’m putting out twelve direct contacts per day.  Now add to that the bog connections from my Amazon and B&N author pages, the other blog connections from two other author pages, and any other extraneous connections.  I am likely adding about twenty-five or more internet links and connections every day. 

 

Did I mention author pages and information before?  As the author of a novel, Amazon and B&N offers author pages and ways to add information about your novels and yourself.  Here is a great way to expand your internet presence.  In addition, on your Amazon author page, you can get information on your sales and readers’ comments on your novels.  If you have a published novel, you definitely need to take advantage of this capability.  For my novel Centurion I was able to place the reviews accomplished by other groups and people.  I was able to add connections to other info on the novel from the web. 

 

In addition to these sites, you can also use sites such as Author’s Den, Writer’s Net, Author Tree, We Read, Goodreads, Filedby, and many others.  If you go to www.ldalford.com and select Writing Connections, you can see many of the places I’ve placed my personal and novel information.  If you remember the point is presence, you get that you need as much as possible as often as possible.  However, you always want to offer something of value to your potential readers and publishers.  That’s the point of a blog.  This blog is valuable because it includes my writing knowledge and ideas.  I’ll move on to book cards and word of mouth next.     

 

More tomorrow.

For more information, you can visit my author site http://www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites:

http://www.ancientlight.com/
http://www.aegyptnovel.com/
http://www.centurionnovel.com
http://www.thesecondmission.com/
http://www.theendofhonor.com/
http://www.thefoxshonor.com
http://www.aseasonofhonor.com  

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