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Creating Shared Content to Engage Readers and Build a Fan Base
Welcome to Chanticleer Reviews Part Three of a Four Part Series on How to Market Your Books in Today’s Publishing World with Leadership Communication Skills

Writing craft is the key to being an author, but engaging people is the key to building a readership and a fan base.

As an author, lead the way to creating the digital paths that will help people discover your books. And today, that means communicating via the Internet.

Author Leadership Communication has Four Cornerstones
1. Creating an Author Identity & Branding
2. Establishing Author Credibility and Competence
3. Creating Shared Content
4. Committing to Action and Making a Plan (forthcoming)
We have discussed the first two cornerstones: 1) Creating Author Identity and Branding, and 2) Establishing Credibility and Competence as an Author. Links are above.

Part 3. Creating Shared Content

Authors must engage with their readers to maintain TOMA (Top of Mind Association) with them or another author definitely will.

Authors can share the experiences of their works (novel) with their readers with the following Interverse platforms:
- Blog posts, website
- Facebook
- Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Reddit, KBoards, Wattpad
  Find the social media platform that appeals to your target audience of readers
- Google+ Community posts & G+ Pages & G+ postings
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Keeping Engaged with Readers

What Types of Content should Authors Create to Keep Readers Engaged?
- Photos & Visual Graphics
  - Inspiration for the novel: Do not underestimate how interesting it is to readers to have a sneak peek into what inspired you to create a work. Was it an historical source, an experience, a landscape, a person, a piece of clothing? Are there photos or graphics that communicate these ideas. One of my favorite authors, Joannah Miley, has a Pinterest Board with photographs of clothing and accessories that the goddesses in her novel, The Immortal Game, wear. Her readers love it! When Joannah launches her second in the series, her readers will be ready to read it because she has kept them engaged!
- Tweet out (about one in ten tweets) intriguing passages of your book with a Bitly.link to your website – not Amazon! This is about building and maintaining reader relationships–not selling your book.
- Create posts about how you write:
  - Do you write first thing in the morning? Late at night?
  - Can you only write in coffee shops?
  - Does your cat sit on your lap? Your dog by your side?
  - Are you a pantzer or an outliner?
  - Did you research a particular area or geography?
  - What kind of music do you listen to while you write?
  - Be sure to put this kind of information in a context to make it an emotional, personal connection, but not too much personal information–only the information that moves your author branding forward.
- Are you thinking of your next work? If so, let your the people who connect with you in the Interverse know. Better yet, ask your followers what their thoughts are about specifics of your work.
- Make your posts relevant and meaningful according to what is appropriate for the social media platform.
- Tag others in your social media posts if the post is flattering, fun, or inspirational.
- What activities do your characters engage in: cooking, photography, selling real estate, making pottery, tattoo artistry, working in a coffee shop? Seek out social media communities who can relate to your characters’ traits, occupations, and hobbies.
- Reference other authors who write in your genre. Readers are always searching for other authors to read while their favs are in between book launches (which is why you need to maintain your connection with them). Authors, even NY Times best selling authors are more apt to give your book a quote or a blurb when they see that the request is coming from a strong social media connection and not just out of the blue.
- Make sure that your followers know that it is okay with you that share your content, create links, and tag you in social media and blog posts. Better yet, thank them profusely when they do and then reciprocate when possible.
- Acknowledge who inspires you, where you learned a particular writing craft skill, personal relationships that have impacted your own life, public figures whom you admire, and other authors and their works that have inspired you. This type of leadership communication will help you build trustworthiness with potential readers whom you may never meet in person, so you must show and share strong credentials along with what motivates you to write.
Most Importantly > START THE CONVERSATION

Be the first one to make the move to say ‘Hi!’ Make the “friend request,” follow on Twitter, circle on Google+. Remember that the Interverse is one big cocktail party. You don’t want to be the wallflower, nor the gal wearing the lampshade, nor the obnoxious relative selling whatever. What you do want is to make new connections and expand your network of potential readers.

Please do not be the bore who dominates and hijacks social media conversations. You can be selective about which posts to interact with, but do stay on topic.

Be sure to reciprocate by LIKING, COMMENTING, RE-TWEETING, INTERACTING, and SHARING with potential readers.

Communication is a two-way street. You can’t expect people (readers) to interact with you in social media if you don’t interact with them–that is unless you are a celebrity with hundreds of thousands of fans.

As an author, lead the way to creating the digital paths that will help people discover your books. And today, that means communicating via the Internet.

Be courageous in creating the digital pathways that will lead your targeted audience of readers to your books. Let your passion for writing and storytelling shine! Then allow evidence of your competence and credibility of being an outstanding author encourage engagement. The evidence should come from others: editorial reviews, notable authors, experts in the field/genre, writing award competitions, and quotes from readers. Be sure to post on your website, in your social media posts, and on the platforms where you books are sell. Make sure that your accolades give credit, attribution, and links to their sources.

INFORM, INVOLVE, ENGAGE

As an author, lead the way to creating the communication paths that will help people discover your books.

My next post in this Leadership Communication Series will be about Committing to Action by Developing a Communication Strategy to Engage Readers.

Up-to-date practical, effective marketing and promotional skills are Kiffer Brown’s forte.

Honed business experience and an entrepreneurial spirit, along with a true understanding “that nothing happens until something is sold” is what Kiffer Brown brings to the table. Kiffer presents at numerous writers conferences and publishing conventions. She is a media scout for executive film producers, literary agents, and publishing houses. She searches for today’s sparkling gems that will become tomorrow’s best sellers. She truly loves what she does and her passion shows.

She has presented at Writer’s Digest National Conferences in NYC, RWA National Conferences, Emerald City Writers Conferences, PubSense Summits, PNWA conferences, and others. She is the founder and president of Chanticleer Book Reviews and International Writing Competitions, L.L.C. and the publisher of Chanticleer Reviews. She is the organizer of the Chanticleer Authors Conference, which focuses on the business and marketing side of being an author in today’s world of publishing. You reach her at KBrown@ChanticleerReviews.com

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April 18, 2015
HOW to INCREASE BOOKS SALES: Tips from Joanna Penn
I had the pleasure and the good fortune to attend the PubSense 2015 Summit in Charleston, South Carolina. Attending the sessions and presentations was like drinking in information from a publishing fire hose!

Information was emanating from some of the brightest stars in today’s publishing world: Stars like Joanna Penn.

Joanna Penn is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, voted one

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Joanna Penn
Photo credit: Mim Saxl, Oxford photographer

of The Guardian UK Top 100 Creative Professionals. Also voted one of the Top 10 Blogs for Writers and one of the Top 10 Blogs for Self-Publishers.

The following is my blog post recap of the highlights of Joanna’s keynote luncheon presentation at the PubSense Summit. Please keep in mind that I was taking notes as fast as I could at her dynamic presentation.

Joanna Penn opened with this concept:

Create Value from Ideas > Create Once, Sell Forever

“Create assets that put income in your pocket for years to come.” JP

JP: THINK SCALE-ABLE, THINK COPYRIGHT

She reminds us to remember the life of an author’s works is her lifetime plus 70 years thus making an author’s intellectual property a potentially valuable part of his/her estate. This is the length of time granted by the U.S. Copyright law.

Create works and then make your back list work for you for years to come.

KB’s Note: Remember that in today’s digital age of the Interverse that an author’s back list never disappears.

JP: Authors need to THINK INCOME STREAMS

Increase Book Sales by Reaching More Customers

Joanna’s Action Items:

Reach different customers by exploiting all formats
1. Kobo, Smashwords, Apple, Amazon, Nook, Google Play, OutBound Words….
2. Audio> ACX
3. Printed Books
4. Plus subsidiary rights
  1. Country markets
  2. Territories
5. Always be on the lookout for new avenues of distribution and publishing
6. Reach different customers by language > Start in English, then expand to German, then Spanish, and so on.
KB: Remember that all the little streams of income flow into a river of revenue.

JP: Authors need to THINK GLOBALLY

Joanna’s Action Items:

Reach customers globally by using multiple retailers
1. Kobo platform is available in 65 countries
2. iBooks are available in 51 countries
3. Amazon Kindle is available in 171 countries
  1. Use print-on-demand for global reach with print books
4. Be on the lookout for new retail platforms and distributors
JP: Authors need to THINK about the MOBILE and DIGITAL MARKETS

“Between 2013 and 2017, mobile phone penetration will rise from 61.1 percent to 69.4% of the global population. eMarketeer

KB: Notes, Background Information, and Definitions:

Demographic shift into cities and smaller living spaces with trends towards less stuff is predicted. The rise of the “digital native” means more digital purchases and more digital products.

“Digital Native” is one who was born after smart phones, the Internet, Social Media, and the advent digital publishing. The Digital Native is totally comfortable with digital technology and tends to absorb new technology tools and applications with the ease of one how one learns one’s native language. A digital immigrant is one who is exposed to digital technology later in life.

Aging population is a big potential market for digital e-books and audio books. It will do nothing but increase.

JP: Apple Carplay and Google Auto will be adopted and come standard by mainstream car manufacturers before 2017.

KB: Notes, Background Information, and Definitions:
- Reading and Writing is now Listening and Dictating.
- Podcasts and Audio books will be instantly available to automobile drivers, mobile smart phones, and tablets.
Joanna’s Action Items:
1. Make sure your website is mobile optimized with responsive design and your books can be purchased via mobile devices.
2. Consider offering your works in audio format to reach a larger audience.
3. Begin podcasting for marketing. Start immediately including pod-casting into your outbound marketing strategy to take advantage of this major shift.
JP: AUTHORS NEED TO THINK AHEAD

The Virtual Reality Market is expected to grow to $407 million dollars and reach more than 25 million users by 2018. Report by Markets and Markets.

“Expect the transformation of online environment to an immersive virtual reality for shopping, gaming, education, community building, and books.” Joanna Penn

JP: Background Information (paraphrased by KB)

For example: Most of the population of Africa had basically no technology at all available to them, but they quickly and fully embraced cell phone technology because it demanded a reduced amount of infrastructure as compared to the old land-lines technology and was more affordable. This shift in technology opens up an entire new market to authors because books are no longer dependent upon brick and mortar stores and transportation highways for potential new readers to access their digital books.

Joanna Penn’s Bottom Line to Authors:

CREATORS of CONTENT will be at the TOP of this HUGE Economic and Societal Shift.

Authors who embrace the digital age will be poised to increase the income potential.

To wrap up: Create Value from Ideas > Create Once, Sell Forever in as many formats and platforms as possible!

Thank you, Joanna Penn, for sharing your marketing and publishing experiences with us.

This is the first post in Kiffer Brown’s Takeaways from the PubSense Summit 2015. I do hope that you find these tidbits tantalizing and informative.

Closing remarks from Kiffer Brown:

I would advise authors to visit The Creative Penn website for more valuable information and resources from Joanna Penn, author, entrepreneur, and professional speaker.

For more information on how to increase book sales, build an effective author platform, and the business side of writing, please consider attending the Chanticleer Authors Conference in September that will be held in the Bellingham, Wash. of the great Pacific Northwest.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
April 11, 2015
A Sawmill and a Few Gutsy Women: CHEATING the HOG by Rae Ellen Lee is on SALE for 99 cents

Gritty and humorous is what Rae Ellen Lee writes best! “Echo needs a miracle. She’s turning fifty, lives with her gun-toting mom, and her lover’s been killed in a logging truck accident. She made front-page news as a Salvation Army bell ringer, but that job ended and she’s digging for change to pay off debt. The local sawmill hires her to do cleanup and odd jobs, like ‘cheating the hog’….When tragedy does strike, she leads the other women mill workers to fight back with earthy humor, a few leveraged threats, and wit as sharp as band saw teeth—earning her respect on the job and the attention of a strong-hearted man.” Click here to download your copy from Amazon.

April 10, 2015
JANUS UNFOLDING: EMERGENCE by C.A. Knutsen

In the remote town of Frazier, Washington, a house fire burns so inexplicably white-hot that the firemen are forced to retreat. There are no known materials used in home construction or interior decoration that can explain the heat and ferocity of the blaze. Upon closer examination of the charred remains of the structure, the firemen discover a body burned so completely that only bones survived. And in the surrounding property, they find the comatose bodies of three professional assassins, clearly laid out for the authorities.

From that intriguing beginning, author C. A. Knutsen draws the reader into alternating stories in Janus Unfolding: Emergence—one placed slightly into the future, and one placed roughly in present day. Chapters flip back and forth from a crime scene investigation that initially stumps the authorities to a description of the childhood of a gifted boy named Jimmy, who exhibits unusual intellectual and physical prowess. The reader soon learns that the Jimmy, who became the adult Jim Post, a reclusive rich man about whom little is known, was killed in the house fire.

Determined to find answers, Jim Post’s business partner, Jeff Pierce, along with the help of the Frazier and Seattle police detectives as well as an Artificial Intelligence program named Martha, work to discover why anyone would murder a man who had no enemies and who had dedicated his life to making the world a better place in which to live. The mystery of exactly what happened in those woods will keep readers eagerly turning the pages.

This novel is, however, far more than a typical whodunit and crime scene investigation; it is a novel about the evolution of mankind. It is also a novel about the reactions of mankind once it learns of that evolution. Readers are drawn into the lives of each of the characters in the book, and are curiously compelled to find out what will happen to them, and whether as a species, Homo sapiens can accept the changes happening within our own societies.

The extensive chapters of the main character’s childhood would make for slow reading if they weren’t essential to eventually understanding the theme of Janus Unfolding: Emergence. However, Knutsen’s accurate portrayal of martial arts scenes will appeal to those who have an interest in the subject. Similarly, readers who enjoy a dash of science fiction in their whodunits will find the descriptions of DNA sequencing and evolution of our species fascinating.

This intriguing novel is not one that fits squarely into the mystery genre, or that follows the standard formula and plot for either a mystery or a SciFi novel. However, readers of both genres will find it a compelling and thought-provoking novel that crosses new boundaries. Highly recommended.

April 10, 2015
The WHEELS of CHANGE by Sandy Appleyard

Wheels of Change, the latest in a trilogy of suspense novels by author Sandy Appleyard, opens with the fatal stabbing of a supposedly perfectly ordinary bank employee, investigated by two police detectives.

Jake Campbell’s fellow employees have nothing bad to say about him, and the detectives uncover nothing in the bachelor’s background that would serve as a motive for murder. However, Jake is not who he appears to be at first glance, and through his misbehaviors, he caught the attention of a killer.

From there, Appleyard interweaves the stories of a host of characters, most of whom have made bad choices in their lives, choices that have consequences. The main character, Simon Cross, a womanizing advertising executive, frequently acts with callous disregard toward others. His mother, a co-dependent drug addict, has problems of her own. Clara, an alcoholic and a cheating wife, is married to Max, a construction worker who has no qualms about attempting to murder Simon for sleeping with his spouse.

As the cops investigate further, they shift their focus to Max, Clara’s husband. Before they can arrest him, Chase McCann, a noted sports journalist, is murdered, and Max goes on the run. They locate and arrest Max, but while he is in custody, a third murder of a prominent character occurs.

Are the cops dealing with a serial killer? And if so, what ties the murders of these people together? How does the killer select his victims?

Appleyard expertly draws together these disparate stories, seen primarily through the eyes of investigating detectives and Simon Cross, who struggles to recover from a debilitating car accident, hold his business together, and put his life back together.

In a surprising twist, as Simon works to change and become a better person, he will face his greatest challenge yet, for the killer is closing in on his next victim.

Wheels of Change grips you from the first page and doesn’t let go until the very last, leaving you gasping as you read the surprise ending. Appleyard proves that she has the talent to keep you guessing, and to teach some life lessons along the way.

April 9, 2015
Kim Hornsby author of the “Dream Jumper’s Promise” and First Place Mystery/Thriller Paranormal Awards

“Since winning this category, I’ve had all book covers changed to include that I’m an Award-Winning Author and am very proud of the recognition the Chanticleer Paranormal contest has given me. It carries weight with readers to have that CBR blue ribbon for a book you’re asking them to buy. I’m grateful I entered the contest and especially happy that someone liked my book this much.”

April 7, 2015
Raw NaNoWriMo 2014 Finalists – Official CBR Listing
The CBR Raw NaNoWriMo 2014 writing competition is to discover originality of story concept and raw story-telling ability from unedited manuscript drafts from those who earned a NaNoWriMo certificate for completing at least 50,000 words in November.

The following manuscripts were found compelling and have advanced forward into the Raw NaNoWriMo 2014 Finalist positions:
- Memory Bengesa for The Sameness Life of Nandi Broken
- Kristine E. Brickey for They Said She Was Crazy
- Sean Curley for Over
- Laila Dawning for Caged Inside
- Donna Degna for Donna Degna in Italy
- Laurie Fitzpatrick for Niello
- Parris Garland for My Name Is Not Daisy
- Richard E. Gower for Death Comes Full Circle
- Anja Jones for Love You Like a Brother
- Joshua Nathanial Kaukl for A Here After
- V. Lakshman for Mythborn 2: Bane of the Warforged
- Rebecca Nolen for Token
- Vanessa Russell for The Pure
- Matthew Spangler for Villainous Jupiter
- R. E. Steedman for The Phantasmagorical Theatre of Crespin Varlot
- Kenneth Stokes for Return to Villa Serena
These Finalists will compete for THE BEST NaNoWriMo 2014 Entry and for 1st Place Genre Winner positions upon receiving proof of their NaNoWriMo 2014 certifications.

The Best RAW NaNoWriMo 2014 entry will receive a CBR Manuscript Evaluation ($395).

1st Place Genre Winning entries will receive a complimentary CBR related novel writing contest entry gift certificate ($45 value) along with a Great Beginnings entry gift certificate ($15 value). Certificates are valid until March 2017.

Winners will be announced before May 30, 2015.
- Authors/Publishers maintain all rights to their works submitted to the RAW NaNoWriMo contest. Simple.
RAW NaNoWriMo 2015 Info

We will begin accepting entries for RAW NaNoWriMo 2015 on December 1st, 2015 until January 31st, 2016 or until the limit of entries is met. You will be asked to upload the digital file of your manuscript upon entry.

The RAW NaNoWriMo Writing Competition is a division of Chanticleer Writing Competitions, L.L.C.

Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month. Please click here to be taken to the OFFICIAL NaNoWriMo organization’s website.

NaNoWriMo Facts and Stats

National Novel Writing Month was established in 1999. It is also a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that believes stories matter.
April 6, 2015
Elisabeth Storrs, author of “The Golden Dice” a Tale of Ancient Rome

““I’m thrilled that The Golden Dice has been declared a First Place Category winner in the 2014 Chaucer Awards. As an Australian author, it’s great to know that novels submitted from ‘Downunder’ can gain a place in these terrific writing contests.” ~ Elisabeth Storrs

April 3, 2015
CATENAE by S.E. Curtis

Debut author S. E. Curtis has penned an intriguing science fiction novel about one family’s fight to defend humanity’s natural timeline. The family, consisting of two generations of noble fighters, has been tasked with guarding the time continuum of all reality, ensuring that no one can alter it in such a way to change the course of history.

The story begins in present day, when beautiful, young Tamara Decaire, a second-generation Family member, is injured in a battle against her enemy. She quickly time-travels back to a present-day hospital ER for treatment. Danny Nolan, an ER surgeon who works the night shift, struggles to save her life. Though her unusual wounds don’t appear to be fatal, she is also presenting symptoms of some type of toxic poisoning. He makes a risky decision to treat her as if she has been poisoned, thus saving her life. However, in the process he has temporarily damaged the tiny nano-processors inside her body that give her the extraordinary powers she uses to fight her galactic enemies.

Upon awakening, Tamara realizes that her ability to fight off her assassin is temporarily weakened. She enlists the help of Danny to get her out of the hospital and moved to a location where she can recover. Thus begins a race against Time to identify Tamara’s powerful, elusive enemies, in which Danny travels into the future and to other planets with the aid of Tamara’s Family members.

S.E. Curtis has written an action-filled adventure that is sure to engage science fiction readers. The author describes a world built on the fascinating premise that all of history is connected, in a cause and effect continuum, back to the origins of reality itself. Those continuums, called catenae, must be protected against any type of modification. The Family, whose members squabble and fight in engagingly human ways, must ensure that no catena is altered in such a way that it changes the course of history. To do that, they must guard their own catena, to ensure their own survival and thus the survival of Reality itself.

The author seems to have left open the possibility of more books, making Catenae, hopefully, the first novel in what should become a very popular series.

Warning of Adult Content: This novel contains non-graphic depictions of rape and torture that may offend some readers. There is a description of repeated rape and torture of the main character in exposition, in the first part of the book. However, the events are not graphically depicted, just told.

April 2, 2015
THE WATCHER by Lisa Voisin

Mia Crawford is a vibrant, outgoing high school student in West Seattle with a close circle of friends. She shares most things in her life with them, but not the strange occurrences that keep her guessing her own sanity: cloudy dog-like creatures with menacing red eyes that chase her, voices cloaked in static, flickering lights, and even real people no one else sees. Mia’s family isn’t around much – Mom works a lot, her dad has a different life out of state, and her brother is away at college. She feels everything with deep intensity, as the smallest events trigger emotional responses landing on both ends of the spectrum.

Two new boys arrive at her high school this year: the first is mysterious Michael, who experienced death after an accident but came back. He is beautiful, strong, and seems to show an interest in Mia, always showing up at just the right time. She quickly develops strong affections for him, but he does not reciprocate her feelings. Instead, he pushes her away, disappointing and confounding her, giving rise to her insecurities.

Damiel, the other new boy, shows up dashing and debonair on his vintage motorcycle. All the girls swoon under his attention, and he pursues Mia persistently. Michael warns her to stay away from him, and she really doesn’t like Damiel. However, she is inexplicably drawn to him, in spite of being in love with Michael.

Mia loves the study of ancient civilizations and literature. She lives out her painful crush through a classroom reading of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Sometimes she has visions of another world, seeing at times a meadow, a loom, and large birds circling in a fight to the death. She also knows she has some kind of connection with Michael, and that he and Damiel have a history. But nothing could prepare her for knowing the truth of that history, and her role in it.

Things become heated when Michael and Damiel confront each other in an other-worldly fight over Mia. When she finally discovers the truth, it sends her on a soul-searching journey of love and redemption, and into a supernatural battle of good and evil, involving angels and demons.

Voisin transports us visually into Mia’s world with rich details, from places as mundane as a wall locker in a school corridor, to a thrilling winged flight high above the city. We ache with Mia for Michael’s touch when he is near, and feel Michael’s pain for resisting.

The mundanity of high school life and petty spats gives way to an other-worldly realm with life and death significance. Mia and Michael have a tragic past that occurred before recorded history, resulting in Mia’s early death and Michael’s fall from his fold into hell and guilt-ridden remorse. Only Mia’s strength can save them in this lifetime; is she up to the task?

The author draws from principles of many different sources, from the Bible and the Quran to Tarot cards, giving none any greater importance than the others, and without judgment. The Watcher will keep you guessing, and feeling, and leave you with great hope.

The Watcher by Lisa Voisin was awarded the Grand Prize Award for Paranormal Novels, a division of Chanticleer Reviews Novel Competitions.

April 1, 2015

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