Self-Planning for Self-Promotion: A Book Marketing without B.S. Web Workshop

I am doing an in-depth online workshop on self-promotion for all authors and comic creators. This isn't just for the self-published, either. If you're published by any house, big or small, you know how much work falls to you for your own book marketing and publicity. In fact, it's telling that my clients primarily fall in the small-to-medium publisher category, with the next largest being major publishing houses. (And yes, I have a few self-published/owner-created comics clients, too!)

Right now there are two dates: Thursday, March 27th at 7 p.m. Eastern Time and Sunday, April 13th at 1 p.m. Eastern Time (get those tickets here). I will do this again a few times a year as long as there is interest, so if you miss these, let me know what time is good for you and I will take that into consideration when I schedule the next one. (Also, if you can gather 6 or more people interested in the workshop, I'll create another event at a time chosen by your group.)

Here is a tentative course outline:

• Pre-Planning
• Honestly determine your strengths and capabilities
• Choose the right tools for you
• CreateSpace and other print-on-demand vs. traditional printing vs. ebook-only
• Decide whether to create a business entity or publish under your own name
• First Steps
• Plan and Outline
• How far in advance to send review requests?
• How far in advance to hire help if you are going to?
• How to get blurbs?
• Publicity: interviews, guest blogging
• What about traditional media?
• One-sheets for mailed books
• Book trailers and other video
• Details
• How many and what type of targets?
• Get your data right here!
• Review copies: physical vs. electronic
• Keep consistent, good records
• What does return on investment mean in this context?
• Social media: tips, tricks, and useful apps
• Obstacles
• Toughening up to criticism--or how to cope if you can't
• Connections and networking: more important than you think
• Growing too fast: slow follower growth is GOOD
• The importance of honest people
• Self-publishing and industry respect
• Q&A

This should all take between 90 minutes and two hours, depending on how many questions there are--and please do bring questions! Also, feel free to email me questions ahead of time if you don't see them addressed in the outline and I'll do my best to work them into the material.

Buy tickets here:

• Thursday, March 27th at 7 p.m. Eastern Time
• Sunday, April 13th at 1 p.m. Eastern Time

I look forward to meeting with you soon!

Self-Promotion for Authors and Comic Creators Webinar Update: Timing Survey

Hi, all! I am planning that webinar on self-promotion for writers and comic creators sometime this month. It's an update and expansion on the free talk I gave at SFContario this past fall. I plan to charge somewhere in the neighbourhood of $15 for the session, which I expect to take 1.5 to 2 hours. If you're potentially interested in this, take this survey to help me get an idea of the best day and time to run a session. I'l consider two sessions if necessary, or even more, depending on response, so tell me what works for you and I'll make a schedule late this week. Anyhow, here's the survey for your radio button-clicking convenience:

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Calls for Submission #4

Thanks, as ever, to Selene MacLeod who brings us the occasional column Calls for Submission (CfS). You can see all of the CfS columns here. Don't forget you can check out Selene's Facebook groups 

Call for Submissions: Poetry, Fiction, Art and Open Call: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Pulp, as well as similar active groups Open Call: Horror Markets, Open Call: For the Love of Horror, and Open Call: Crime, Thriller and Mystery Markets.

Finally, don't forget to sign up to receive my news and columns by email; make sure you don't miss useful stuff in the social media shuffle!

Enough of me. You're here for Selene. Enjoy! - Beverly

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I hope everyone is staying warm and enjoying Women in Horror Month. Be sure to check out some of the great blogs showcasing women's horror writing. 

• Black Women in Horror: http://sumikosaulson.com/2014/02/19/nineteen-more-black-women-in-horror-writing-list-3/
• The Eclectic Eccentric Shopaholic: http://theeclecticeccentricshopaholic.wordpress.com/2014/02/12/the-sirens-call-issue-13-women-in-horror-second-annual-edition/
• Monster Librarian: http://www.monsterlibrarian.com/TheCirculationDesk/?p=2935
• Sekhmet Press: http://sekhmetpress.wordpress.com/2014/02/23/books-babes-and-the-business-billie-sue-mosiman/
• 92 Women Horror Authors to Read: http://www.examiner.com/article/february-is-women-horror-month-92-horror-authors-you-need-to-read-right-now
• Bufton's Blog: Click on each link on the calendar for a different interview with a female horror author. http://buftonsblog.wordpress.com/2014/02/03/
• William Cook also has some interviews featuring women horror authors. http://www.williamcookwriter.com/2014/02/women-in-horror-month-3-rena-mason.html
• Horror Writers Association http://horror.org/ 

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Because February is a month of blahs punctuated by hearts and chocolate (if you like that sort of thing), and because I've got the attention span of a gnat these days (hello SAD), I'd like to focus on the art of short-short fiction: flash and its various incarnates.

Markets that Accept Flash Fiction: 

• Flash Fiction Online. 500-1,000 words, pays $50. http://flashfictiononline.com/main/submission-guidelines/
• Kazka Press 713 Flash. Monthly themed contest, 500-1,000 words. Pays $15. http://www.kazkapress.net/713flashfiction
• Shotgun Honey. Crime/noir/thriller stories, max 750 words. Non-paying market. http://shotgunhoney.net/about#guidelines
• Horror D'Oeuvres. Pays $0.05 per word. https://darkfuse.submittable.com/submit/20777
• Horror Garage. Max 1,200 words. Pays $30. http://www.horrorgarage.com/horror/submission.php
• Drabblecast. http://www.drabblecast.org/submissions/
• SpeckLit. Drabbles (exactly 100 words). Pays $0.05 per word. http://specklit.com/submissions/
• Nanoisms. Twitter fiction, max 140 characters. Pays $1.50 per story. http://nanoism.net/submit/
• Untied Shoelaces of the Mind. Publishes 4x per year, pays $0.03 per word. http://www.untiedshoelacesofthemind.com/
• Thumbnail Press, Thumbnail Mag. This is an anthology, but no payment terms are listed so I assume it's a non-paying market. https://thumbnailmag.submittable.com/submit
• Ravenous Monsters Contest. http://www.ravenousmonster.com/featured-article/ravenous-monsters-spreading-plague-flash-fiction-contest/
• Nature Futures. http://www.nature.com/nature/authors/gta/others.html#futures
• Pantheon. http://pantheonmag.com/submission-guidelines/
• Toasted Cake. Podcast market, looking for flash 700-1,200 words. Token payment $5. Open through the end of February 2014. http://toastedcake.com/submissions.html
• Crossed Genres. Flash Fiction Free-For-All. Open March 1-March 31, 2014. Pays $0.05 per word. Looking for stories 300-1,000 words. http://crossedgenres.com/submissions/magazine/
• ConfettiFall Twitter fiction contest, max 140 characters, deadline Feb. 28, 2014. Winner gets a $15 Amazon gift card. http://www.confettifall.com/contest.html 

Pro Paying Markets Open for Submissions:

• The New Quarterly. Canadian literary magazine. Pays $250 per story, $40 per poem. Postal submissions ONLY. Deadline February 28, 2014. http://tnq.ca/submissions
• Apex Magazine. Pays $0.05 per word for fiction, max 5,000 words. No deadline listed here but I think I heard April 1 somewhere! http://www.apex-magazine.com/submission-guidelines/ (Note: For a great read about the submissions process, check out Michael Matheson's blog here: http://www.apexbookcompany.com/2014/02/apex-magazine-submissions-update/)
• Penumbra. Looking for “superhero” themed stories. Pays $0.05 per word, max 3,500 words, deadline February 28, 2014. http://penumbraezine.blogspot.ca/p/submissions.html
• Tin House. Literary market, current theme is “Tribes.” Deadline April 15, 2014. Not much info listed about payment or word limits. http://www.tinhouse.com/magazine/submission-guidelines.html 

Semi-Pro: 

• Betwixt. Quarterly, next deadline February 28, 2014. Pays $0.02 per word up to $150. http://betwixtmagazine.com/submissions/
• Wicked Words Quarterly. No deadline listed. Pays $0.01 per word. Max 7,500 words (they will publish a novella/ette in the upcoming year, max 15,000 words). http://www.wickedwords.co.uk/submissions/
• Bastion. New sci-fi mag, first issue April 1, 2014. Pays $20 for the first 2,000 words then $0.01 per word after that. 1k-5k words. http://www.bastionmag.com/submissions/
• The Dreadful Cafe. Theme: “Thresholds.” Looking for dark, genre-blending fiction 1,000-7,000 words. Pays $150. Deadline February 28, 2014. http://dreadfulcafe.com/thresholds/ 

Token-Paying and Royalty Markets: 

• Allegory. Publishes tri-annually. Pays $15 for stories, prefer stories under 5,000 words. Looking for sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. http://www.allegoryezine.com/submissions.htm
• Villainous Press Steampunk Anthology. Deadline February 28, 2014. Pays $15 for stories up to 6,000 words. http://villainouspress.com/submissions/open-calls/
• Body Parts. Deadline February 28, 2014. Theme: “Alchemy.” Max 8,000 words. Pays $20. http://www.bodypartsmagazine.com/submission-guidelines-copy.html
• Boroughs of the Dead. Deadline February 28, 2014. Looking for ghost stories set in New York City (the five boroughs), max 3,500 words. http://mythinkbooks.com/submission-guidelines/boroughs-of-the-dead-vol-2/
• Dear Nana. Looking for non-fiction stories about grandmothers. Pays $30, deadline March 1, 2014. http://www.writerswhorock.com/#/submissions/4571570498

Contest:

• Spark Anthology, accepting from March 15 to April 2. No fee, but donation suggested. Good prizes. http://sparkanthology.org/contests/five/