Keys, Wine Cellars, Crowdfunding and My Number One Fan...

This week I've found any excuse to be outside in the sun and away from the computer.
My seven actions for:

 Operation Author: 365 Actions to Succeed as an Author 

have mostly involved preparing for my crowdfunding pitch to publish Solomon's Secrets and host a big event celebrating independent creative talent in Bristol .

I started completing the fields on the form for my Fundsurfer crowdfunding pitch. 

It's not yet published on line, I'll be starting the clock on 5th May which gives me a couple of weeks to get the rest of it together.

I went out into Bristol with my camera and took lots of images of locations featured in the book to use in the video. I also had a look at some venues for the launch event.

I've provisionally booked Averys wine cellars for the event and planned it for Friday 5th September at 8pm. 

Averys are a wine merchants that have been operating in Bristol since 1793. Under the shop they have this amazing 18th century brick cellar that I guess would originally have been used to store barrels of wine. It's really atmospheric and would look awesome lit up with candles.

This is a picture from their website of the space. 

My event wouldn't be a sit down affair like this, it would be more of a mingle and a few tables dotted about.

I've been doing the sums and working out what's possible so I can add it to the pitch. The event will include plenty of wine (sourced from Averys), food (provided for by local caterers), some live music (by a local band) and pop up theatre performing short scenes from Solomon's Secrets (by a local acting troop).

I've been recording audio and some short video clips to stitch together for a video pitch. I'll be including some sketches of my characters. Here's Sasha Blake:

And here's a short piece of audio about Sasha, unedited, to be stitched into my video pitch.

 https://soundcloud.com/amy-morse-2/meet-sasha-blake

I've enlisted my husband Graham to help make the video, I'll share it here too when it's done.

Other actions have been: 

I had an idea about some guerrilla marketing for Solomon's Secrets and went around some junk shops to find some old keys. I have been making tags with them. I'll be leaving them all over the place and asking people to tweet me if they find a key for a chance to win a copy of the book.

Another action:
I had previously had a Facebook page for The Bronze Box and finally got around to having a Facebook Author page. Check it out and like it for regular updates:

https://www.facebook.com/AmyCFitzjohn

Action 6: 
I read a really useful e-book  'A Weekend of Book Marketing' by Duolit and followed their tips. I've created a profile for my Number 1 Fan. By having an idea of who my ideal customer/reader is I can then be a lot more targeted in my marketing. I can select blogs to guest for and publications to write for based on the sort of things that may appeal to my target customer. Here's a profile. I've highlighted keywords:

Action 7:
I created a CV just for my writing and have registered with several freelance job boards

What marketing advice would you offer to other writers?

 

Final chapters, wine, an awards ceremony and a call for writers

There's something very civilised about travelling through the countryside on a train with a fellow writer and chatting about writing, books and exchanging stories.

I'm a day late this week updating my Operation Author: 365 Actions to Succeed as an Author because of our excursion.

My friend and fellow writer Heather Reed was shortlisted for the Exeter Novel Prize for her brilliant crime novel, with a working title of 'Puff of Madness' and I went along to the awards ceremony with her for moral support - and as drinking / shopping / eating partner.

Although she didn't win the overall prize she had a special mention from Literary Agent, Broo Doherty and that made her day.

We celebrated with plenty of wine, we both have a weakness for Rioja!

We did some networking with fellow writers and are going to make connections with Exeter Writers through our own network, Southville Writers. So that's another action from the week.

Heather and I have been in a race to finish our manuscripts this week, and she's beaten me - I still have have half a chapter to go on Solomon's Secrets. So most of my actions this week have been ticking off the chapters. I aim to finish the first draft next week.

We are going to critique and edit each others work, so agreeing how we will do that is another action.

I've drafted a simple cover for the book so that when it's ready I can get a couple of proof copies print on demand for editing - so that's another action.
 

I still need two more writers to be involved in a blog tour. So my next action is to put a shout out:

Calling all writers and bloggers - 

Would you like to take part in a blog tour?

Email me: amy@tomcatdesigns.co.uk for details.

Basically; I put a shout out, links and profiles for three writers on my blog and those writers then put a shout out for me then link to three other writers. The idea is to link up and support other writers and also to help readers to discover new writers.

The deadline for my leg of the blog tour is Saturday 29th March, ready for my post w/c: 31th March

My final action this week was to submit a guest post for a fellow writers blog, a prolific and talented writer of psychological thrillers, Maggie James. My article on not judging a book by its movie is on her brilliant blog:  http://www.maggiejamesfiction.com/2/post/2014/03/dont-judge-a-book-by-its-movie.html

Back to writing Solomon's Secrets. 

I've set up a Pinterest board of images of actors that I imagine when I picture and 'hear' my characters in my head. I look like some kind of Clive Owen, Kate Winslet and Tom Hiddleston celebrity stalker but I find it genuinely useful to have the board up on one of my screens while I'm writing.  

I spent far too long updating it last night: http://www.pinterest.com/amymorse184/solomons-secrets-my-characters/

And finally, here's another snippet from the book for your reading pleasure, enjoy...