A week of interviews

Writers need to be ready for anything, whether it’s an impromptu interview (which is why it’s a good idea to know what questions you’ll ask before you request the interview) or if it’s an idea striking out of the blue (which is why it’s a good idea to keep pen and paper handy). The same goes for authors: Be ready for anything.

In my case, I had to be ready to answer interview questions last week. Quite a lot of them, actually.

I had quite a few interview requests lined up, so I took the time last week to answer all the interview questions. Some interviews went live immediately after I responded with answers, and some interviewers noted it would be a while before the interview went up. In fact, one interview won’t go up until sometime next year.

These interview requests came about because of two things: My networking with other authors and opportunities I saw for author interviews. Of course, with two books coming out soon, I had to grab these opportunities. They were a chance to talk about my books!

It was a lot of work going from one interview to the next, but so worth it. I have a chance to spread the word about my books (yay!) and give a heads-up on future books (yay again!). This was also a chance to offer some helpful advice to aspiring writers. Never give up, I said. Read everything you can get your hands on. Be persistent! This also gave me a sense of gratification.

Plus, I was grateful that all the interviews were through email. Made it a lot easier to think about, edit and rearrange my answers before the interviewer got them.

This experience was very interesting. I’ve been interviewed before, but I’ve never had so many lined up in one week. Also, I am used to being the interviewer, not the interviewee, so it was quite a change of place for once. I was asked some very interesting questions and was challenged to come up with interesting, if not lengthy, answers for certain scripted interviews.

Then after all was said and done, I went back to being the interviewer and worked on a couple of articles for SIGNews.

A couple of the interviews have been posted and you can read them here:

Interview at Writer’s Sanctuary.(Thanks, Dellani!)

Interview at Steel Diamonds Publishing.

Great Minds Think Aloud Literary Community
(Thanks, Kitty!)

And, earlier in the month, there was another interview with me posted at Highlighted Author here.
(Thank you, Charlene.)

How I survived the HARO deluge

When I was running the blog series for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I decided to solicit stories from breast cancer survivors via Help A Reporter Out (HARO). After my query ran, I heard from a lot of people willing to share their stories. Unfortunately, I was not able to include everybody's stories, because the folks at HARO ran my query so late in the month and I could only use up so much of the following month to continue the series. In addition to this blogging thing, I also work on various writing projects, care for my two young children and keep house. So I was able to only devote so much of the month of November to continuing the series.

Still, that very first experience taught me something: When using HARO, give an early deadline. This is especially true since you might receive e-mails from responders even after your deadline has passed, as I did. They say the later your deadline is, the less priority your query will have. So, give an earlier date than your actual one.

So, the next time I used HARO, I set an early deadline. Thankfully, it was not so much time before my query ran.

My second query for HARO was for writers to share quotes and assorted revision advice for my Revisions book. I needed freelance writers, poets, authors, novelists, songwriters and scriptwriters to share their own revision experiences and advice.

Unlike my first experience using HARO, this time was different.

This time, I received a TON of e-mails from writers, publicists and agents willing to have work included in my book. If you picture me sitting at the desk one minute then being knocked out of my chair the next after being hit by a stream of e-mails, that's pretty accurate. It got to a point where I wanted to huddle in a corner, rocking back and forth and mumbling, "THERE'S SO MANY!"

I was definitely grateful that so many people took the time to share their revision advice for my book, but I was nervous about tackling ALL of those emails. I don't have an exact count as to how many e-mails I got; I stopped counting after I got to 100. Even halfway through the month of going through them, I still had like 80-something to go!

I knew I had to be able to answer ALL of them this time. I COULD NOT lose any of the responders like I had with my last HARO experience.

But how was I going to do that?

I came up with a plan. First, I took a deep breath. One at a time, I told myself. Just answer one e-mail at a time. Don't look at ALL of those e-mails; just deal with them one at a time.

So, I started to communicate with them. The first thing I did was zero in on what the writers specialized in. Some told me "I'm a freelance writer" and others told me they were authors of nonfiction books. However, some of them did not provide too much information about the kind of writing they did, so I had to check out their blogs and Web sites to guage just what they could offer the best revision advice on.

I also had to weed out the ones who expected to be compensated for their time. I'm sorry, but I am not able to pay everyone who contributes to this book. I even said that in my HARO query: There's NO financial compensation. I just could not afford it. Some of the writers opted out when I told them I could not pay them anything, some said "okay, well at least my name and books will be credited." Yes, I DO include everybody's bios, in full detail with links, etc. It's the best I can do in lieu of payment.

After that, I organized the e-mails. Since I was losing people on other pages of my e-mail account, I had to keep everyone on the same page. I'd read any new e-mails that came in that cluttered up the e-mails I had all together from the HARO responders, as well as others that were newer than the HARO e-mails, and kept all of them front and center. I left them unread (making them in bold) until I had the chance to get to them. Since I use G-mail, I labeled ALL of those e-mails, and it was easier for me to find them when a new response came in. When I downloaded a document they sent, I labeled that, as well.

I would also suggest keeping all of the e-mails related to your project in one folder on your e-mail account. I have yet to do this with G-mail, but I have done it with other e-mail accounts, such as Hotmail and Mail2World. This was a HUGE mistake. Those e-mail accounts expire after a SHORT period of time and because I didn't log in there as often after my books were done, I ended up losing A LOT of e-mails, submissions and valuable information from publishers after those accounts expired. Yahoo! seems to be the best e-mail provider for me, for this kind of thing. But I will try G-mail, as well, and see how that works.

Also, I put together an "all-purpose form response" e-mail message. I copied and pasted the different sections of my book into this document (for example, "the chapters for poets" and "the chapters for freelance writers," etc.) so I could copy and paste that into the e-mails for the poets, the freelance writers, the scriptwriters, etc. This was A LOT easier than just typing the same thing again and again and again.

I also put together a brief description of what my book is about, including info on the publisher and the publication date. A lot of the responders requested this information, so, here again, instead of typing then retyping and retyping that information into my responses, I would just copy and paste.

I kept on hand a sample chapter of the book, because this, too, was what many responders requested.

Now, the method of actually answering all of those e-mails...

At first, I tried to answer as many as I could every day. Unfortunately, I fell behind on other things: Articles I had due, other books to work on, etc. (As it is, I had to quit one gig because I just could not keep up with it anymore and I felt really bad I was taking so long to get my articles turned in). So, in order to manage that and everything else I had going on, I just told myself, Okay, I'll spend one hour every day answering the e-mails. Just one hour. (Some people may be able to spend more than one hour a day answering a deluge of e-mails, and that's fine, but set a time limit and stick to it in order to avoid losing yourself in that.) Believe me, this time limit did wonders. I had my sanity back and my children had their mother back. It did slow things down in the rate I was able to answer all of the e-mails, but I had to enforce this time limit in order to balance everything else. It's just the system that worked best for me.

Most important of all, though, I had to remember one thing: THERE WAS A PERSON BEHIND EVERY E-MAIL. It was not just "another e-mail to answer." These e-mails came from real, actual people. It would not be fair to send all of them some form response or thumb my nose at everyone who decided to walk away because I couldn't pay them. I understood where they were coming from, as writers and as authors, mothers, etc., and I made sure they knew I was not out to "steal" their work, or anything. With technology, it's so easy to forget that we are talking to a REAL HUMAN BEING on the other end of the communication method, be it e-mail, chat, online relay, etc. We tend to forget there's a real person there, a person with feelings and emotions, and sometimes people act all "high and mighty" or very rudely.

This brings me to another point: Always be professional. Even if someone says something in an e-mail that sets us off, step away, take a few deep breaths, rant privately and go...break something, if you have to. Just do not try to "get back" at them in your response. Be professional at all times, even when replying to people answering your HARO query.

I assured several of the HARO responders that they'd keep the rights to anything they shared and I made sure I ran by them any edits or changes I hoped to see in what they submitted.

I ended up having conversations with several of them about things outside of the book and it was like meeting new friends. It was a wonderful experience, even though it took me over a month to sort through all of the e-mails I received. My book is better for it, though. My network of fellow writers has grown and my knowledge of other writers and their work has been expanded.

To someone considering using HARO for their projects, my best advice is to be prepared. Keep everything organized and take it just one e-mail at a time. Your writing, and your sanity, will be better off in the end if you do so.

Lessons in networking

As a writer, networking is important. It's important for us to network because it helps us to:

• Learn about other writers out there. I have known many for years and consider a great deal of them to be my friends.

• Hear about other publishing opportunities. A lot of my work has found a home because of networking with editors, agents and publishers.

• Get clued in about news and events related to writing and publishing. Whether it's through Facebook, MySpace, a newsletter or blog post, there's bound to be some relevant writing or publishing related news that I was grateful to learn about.

• Spread the word about you and your work. This can be done by mentioning what you write, announcing a recent clip, or how you know about something thanks to writing about it in your book.

• Build up an audience. Every single person you meet can be a future reader of your article or book.

Of course, there are other benefits of networking. You can network in person and through the Internet. (A majority of the networking I do is through the Internet.) But the above are major contributors to building a successful and long-lasting writing career. I have learned many tips and lessons as a writer thanks to networking, but it's only recently that I discovered how networking can even teach me a thing or two about networking.

Specifically, how it's important to NEVER STOP NETWORKING!

With two books keeping me busy (and the occasional short story, essay or article), I've started to prioritize my activities in order to allow for more time to work on the books. One of the things I slowed down on was networking. I naively thought, 'I can always get back to networking later.' I figured that everyone out there would understand (since, after all, a lot of them are writers, too!) and that I could pick up where I left off after the books were done.

It wasn't long before I discovered that nothing could be further from the truth! Sure I can get back to networking after I had more time, but I have learned that there's no way I can just STOP networking.

Actually, networking itself was pulling me (kicking and screaming, reaching madly for my unfinished manuscript!) back into the system before I even had a chance to step out. There were publishing opportunities! There were interview opportunities! There were writers talking about some REALLY important topics I just had to throw in my comments about!

In essence, I was trying to leave behind a "job" before I was even "finished" with it. I thought taking a sabbatical was allowed when it came to this particular "job" but, actually, if you want to keep your name out there, you have to keep your name out there!

You need to always grab those opportunities and those "promotional windows" and stay a part of it all. Don't sacrifice your networking even when your plate is full or deadlines are looming.

Because after all is said and done, you'll have to wonder, where do I go from here?

By keeping up the networking, chances are good there will be an answer.

Rude authors

Last weekend, I was at the Borders bookstore doing research for the haunted houses book. While browsing through an aisle, I came across a book which I felt might be of interest for an article I am writing for Shadowlands. I added it to my BIIIIG stack of books to go through for my research, found a table and started reading through it. Sure enough, I found a part of the book which I might be able to include in the article. Later, I thought that in addition to including some small excerpt from the book, maybe I could contact one of the authors for an interview. It would definitely add credibility to the subject I'm writing about!

So I looked up the authors on the Internet. Both of them were NOT easy to find. I did get an email address for one of them and sent her an email, requesting an interview. She replied saying she does not give interviews. I shrugged it off and went about my business.

The thing which puzzled me, however, was how I couldn't find her book on Amazon. And when I Googled it, I only got 4 results. I was concerned, of course. One thing EVERY book needs is a healthy Internet presence and I was curious as to why the book wasn't mentioned very much on the Internet. (One of the authors didn't even have his own Web site.) So I emailed her again, asking about this and why I couldn't find the book on Amazon. This is what my email said:

Hi, *****,

I hope you are well.

I'm curious about something: How come your book ************** isn't listed on Amazon.com? Do you know why your co-author doesn't have a Web site? Has this book been reviewed in media that isn't linked on the Internet? I am curious because my Google search on your book only brought up 4 results, so I'm concerned that the book isn't getting enough "Internet attention" as it should. Please let me know, if you can, about these things. I would greatly appreciate that info! :)

Take care and have a great day!

Best,

Dawn

She responded with a VERY rude email saying that it IS on Amazon and she showed me the LARGE search results numbers she got off of Google when she typed up her book.

Actually, here is what she had to say:

Hi, Dawn,

At the risk of sounding rude, when I said that I don’t do interviews, it means I don’t do interviews. The results of a Google search are below, and I know you know that ************** is listed on amazon. I’m not sure what your purpose is with this, but I won’t be replying to future emails.

Thanks, NAME OMITTED

Ohh-kay. Well, I tried HER method of searching on Google (removing the quotation marks) and, sure enough, up popped the very same results. Right along with an Amazon link!

Now WHY, may I ask, didn't it turn up on Amazon when I used the search feature there?? And I'd always been told to use quote marks when Googling a book's title. I don't know WHY it goes both ways now.

The fact that this woman was very rude to me -- someone who obviously liked her book -- and acted this way in light of the opportunity for her book to get more promotion is such a mystery to me. I can understand if she doesn't give interviews. I respect that, of course. Still, I don't think she needed to be so rude about it....

Maybe she has something against the media in general. Maybe she's had a bad experience with people requesting interviews in the past. Maybe she has something against the Shadowlands, the staff, me or some book I have written!

Nevertheless, she was in the wrong to assume I "knew" her book was on Amazon, because I DIDN'T FIND IT! She was also in the wrong to assume I had some kind of ulterior motive in contacting her for an interview. Bad networking, indeed.

I also do not think that kind of attitude will help her book sales. Not only will I not include her book in my article, but I won't be buying it, either.

Blog mention!

I got mentioned in someone's blog!

I sent an email to my friend, Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of books such as The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't and the wonderful poetry collection, Tracings. I wrote to her because I was stumped about something. Previously, I'd posted a poem on deviantART for critique. Someone pointed out how he/she wasn't sure if "abuse/truce" could be used as a rhyme. My thinking was that the pronunciation differences determined whether or not they could be used as a rhyme, and not so much how they were spelled. So I contacted Carolyn, poet extraordinaire, about this and she responded with her feedback. She asked for permission to include this in her newsletter and I said, "Sure. I'm interested in seeing further discussion on this, anyway." So I read her newsletter and started making notes on another thing I wanted to comment on when I e-mailed her my thanks. When I got to the part where she talked about my poetry dilemma, I was surprised to see that not only had she mentioned it in her newsletter, but on her blog, as well.

SWEET!!

Thank you so much, Carolyn!! You made my day!

If you wanna have a look, check it out here: http://www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com/

"Everybody has a MySpace"

Not everybody is a fan of the megahit site MySpace, but I've definitely found it to be pretty useful so far. I initially signed up because I had family on there, but I soon discovered that it was a great way for me to learn all about the current (and not-so-current) bands and musicians out there. I'm tired of getting funny looks from people when I don't know who someone is or that this name I come across is a BAND (being COMPLETELY deaf, I don't normally listen to music, so I am waaaay out of touch with the current music scene). So I started using MySpace to learn all about bands and musicians, just so I'll have the 411. I also discovered people I knew in real life (like the Grynch guys) also had MySpaces, so I added them, too.

Pretty soon, I started getting friend requests from fellow writers and authors. That's when I had my "Eureka!" moment. I was like, "Wow. I could USE this site for networking!" So I started adding other writers and authors, too. (And we've often sent messages back and forth about writing-related stuff.) I also added magazines, editors, publishers and lit agents. As well as other pages of people I knew online. Some sites I added ended up being a GOOD thing; there's someone on my Friends List who literally saved my life (long story) and they are on my Top Friends. (Or should I say..."HE" is on my Top Friends. LOL I don't know his name but I know he is a "he"!) Someone else on that Top Friends, who runs a fan page, is an AWESOME person and I'm happy I've "met" her through the site. She is just so cool!

But MySpace has brought me some other advantages, as well. I have been working on the haunted houses book for a loooong time. I ended up getting stuck on one chapter. My main problem was, I NEEDED people to interview for it, and I couldn't find that many! The one person I found via Google hasn't exactly had a lot of free time to answer questions via email (and whenever I've phoned him, there was no answer). Also, I had trouble finding more sites related to this topic, books on this topic and even organizations.

Then I remembered something I kept hearing a lot (or, should I say, SEEING a lot): "Everybody has a MySpace." So one day I sat down, stretched my fingers out and started searching MySpace for people involved in this industry. But not just people; any companies and authors of books related to this industry. Bingo! Page after page of search results came up. I just couldn't BELIEVE there were so many people and sites on MySpace who were in that VERY industry I am writing about! (Note to writers: If you can't find anyone on Google, that's because they're all on MySpace!) I contacted them, they responded to me and spread the word. Other people started contacting me, too, and I'm happy to report that this chapter is FINALLY starting to move along really, really well. I can finally say I'm understanding this whole industry better and I now feel confident enough to finish this chapter.

Of course, I HAVE had some bad experiences on MySpace. I've gotten messages from guys intrerested in hooking up. (One guy said he thought my profile made me sound fun, caring and sexy, even though my profile was set to private!) And of course there is spam to be had on MySpace! Some people have sent me spam THEN a friend request (which of course got denied). I HATE spam. Really. Grr!! So I delete it from my Inbox and I delete it from my comments.

I AM NOT on MySpace to hook up with anyone.

I AM NOT on MySpace to look for great deals on ringtones or how to make money filling out surveys. (*groan*)

And I am certainly NOT on MySpace to be tested by ANYONE with a bad attitude and posting "f*** you all!" messages every day hating people and tearing others down. Or sometimes they say "if you REALLY love me, you'll repost this chain letter or else I will delete you!" Fine. Delete me. I won't lose any sleep over NOT bugging my friends with some lame chain letter which I KNOW is just a prank/urban legend/rumor/etc.

However, I AM on MySpace to have fun. To stay in touch with family. To get to know other people. To network with other writers and authors. To promote my writing, my books, my E-zine and Web site. And, of course, as I have said, to learn a thing or two about the music scene (which is DEFINITELY helpful, given one of my novels-in-progress includes A LOT of real-life current singers and their songs!).

And of course to help me out whenever I get stuck on a writing project. At least now I know that if I ever have a hard time finding people to interview, I know where else to look!