Staring at the blank screen? Can't quite force your... paws... to start tapping out words? Maybe even getting to the laptop was a challenge?

We're not talking about writer's block here: you've got a story you're eager to write, the characters are screaming in your head to be released onto the page... so what's holding you back?

LMS - Lazy Muse Syndrome - has paid you a call, and she's brought along her BFF, Procrastination. Procrastination will present you with something you'd rather do - and it has to be now, because today's the last day that movie will be showing, for example - or with just this one thing that you should do first - that phone call, maybe, which leads to another thing and another...  

When or if you get through Procrastination, and bring up the page, and type "Chapter One", Lazy Muse jumps in. She'll spit out two sentences, or three paragraphs... and suddenly you find you're thirsty, or hungry, or need to pee. When you get back, there stands Procrastination, just waiting for you again.

I don't need to go on. If you're reading this, you get it. The question is, how do you get rid of it?

You tell yourself the problem is will-power, or time, or too many other commitments, but the real problem is: SIZE. Let's face it, a novel is huge: 90,000 words, 300 pages, a WHOLE BOOK - gasp! It doesn't matter if you've already written a dozen of them - or in my case eight - the very thought of starting something that size makes me hyperventilate. What if I can't do it again? What if it takes forever? Shouldn't I just do this one little thing first? If I'm going to be writing this book for the rest of my life, do I really have to start today? Why not tomorrow?

Really, the issue behind all our fears is size. Would you jump off a step stool? Would you jump off the Empire State Building? Would you talk to two people about your book? Would you like to talk in front of two thousand? Would you walk through a shadow? Would you walk through a long dark tunnel? Would you climb a hill? Would you climb Mt. Everest? It's all about proportion.

The trick is convincing yourself that this MAMMOTH, LIFE-LONG COMMITMENT is really not that big a deal. Telling yourself? Nope, convincing yourself. It has to be believable. Your inner muse isn't stupid. And if you want to convince yourself, it has to be true. So how do you turn this mountain into a series of mole-hills?

Big Business uses the mnemonic acronym SMART to reach goals. But we don't want big, right? We want SMALL. So that's the acronym I use.

S - specific. Going to a movie is specific; making a phone call is specific; writing a novel? Not so much. In order to make a task specific, you have to know exactly what it looks like, what's involved. For a writer, that means plotting. I know, some authors hate to plot. But you can't build anything without some kind of blueprint, and the clearer the blueprint, the more manageable it will seem. Remember, you're trying to convince yourself this is doable. So whether you plot a lot or a little, you need to have some idea of where this novel starts, where it's going, and where it will end. Who are the characters, what are the main plot points, how  will it conclude? The more you know, the smaller the actual task of writing it will seem. Having trouble with this? Just pretend that plotting out your novel is a way of delaying writing it, and you will have Procrastination on your side!

Once you know what your novel specifically looks like, you can turn writing it into convincingly bite-sized pieces. We already do this for the readers, so they won't be daunted by the prospect of reading it - we call them chapters. So now do it for yourself. The right size of each writing chunk is very individual; you need to consider the rest of this acronym to determine what will work for you.

M - measurable. Your lazy little muse might not want a big task, but she wants a big reward, and she's not very patient, either. She needs constant affirmation. That feeling of success, of accomplishment? She's addicted. Making her wait till the whole bloody novel is written just won't work - she'll go somewhere else, where they understand her better. You have to give her a day's pay for a day's work. How will you measure a day's work? Some people say, "I'll write for this long every day." I've never found time to be a good measure of writing. I mean, does it start when you sit down, or when you actually start typing? If you take a washroom break, is that time out, or is it part of your daily hour? There are a hundred ways Procrastination can still operate while you're sitting in front of your laptop. How can your muse leave with a sense of accomplishment if she cheated? 

Chapters are an option, and you can feel legitimately good about completing a chapter, but chapters differ in length. Writing is slower than reading, so writing an entire chapter (especially if you write, say, 8,000 word long chapters) every day may be unrealistic. I prefer word count or page count as a measure. It's quick and clear.

A - achievable. Here's where you take into account your personal circumstances. How much time a day can you realistically devote to this? What are your other daily obligations? Are you a fast or a slow writer? Your muse won't be happy if you never achieve your daily goal, so be honest about this. Better to aim low and feel wildly successful than to aim high and constantly fail. Remember, you're trying to convince yourself this is a SMALL doable task, not confirm your fear that it isn't.

L - length. How long will you do this for? Everything looks smaller when there's an end in sight. So when you're setting your daily rate, consider how long it'll take you to finish at that rate. Is there a deadline for completing this novel? How serious is that deadline(is it a 'like to' or a 'must'?) You might want to adjust your daily goal after considering this, but you still have to be realistic. Don't worry if the end is 10 months away - if you'd started it ten months ago, you'd be done NOW. And there will be a now. Until then, focus on each day.

L - life. Will this schedule allow you to enjoy your life? There are still movies to see and phone calls to make. The goal is not to avoid all temptation. Temptation is great - I succumb to it regularly. The most important trait that creative people share is a sense of playfulness.
That fun thing you want to do? That half-hour of daydreaming you feel guilty about? I guarantee you, you won't write anything if you don't make time for them.

There you have it. A SMALL task awaits you. You can get today's chunk done before that movie begins, and still have time to make the phone call!  So go to your laptop right now and type in: CHAPTER ONE.

September 30: the FINAL day of InSeMaMo
Today's challenge is to...

Now that you have your marketing plan in place, and you're regularly spending an hour or so a day on the ongoing marketing mediums you've chosen to focus on, it's time to get back to the reason you started all this in the first place - to write!

The most important thing you can do to market your book? Write the next one! And the one after that!

This IS a marketing move, because you don't know when something that strikes a chord with you will also strike a chord with your public. F. Scott Fitzgerald's favorite of his books was not The Great Gatsby - way and above his most successful and popular book - it was Tender Is The Night. But anyone who likes Gatsby, wants to read his other novels, too.

Not only will you gain new readers with each book you write - readers who will go looking for your other books - but Amazon's logarithms pick up authors with multiple books over authors with only one or two, to recommend.

You can maximize the marketing power of multiple books (how's that for alliteration?) by writing a series. This applies to non-fiction as well as fiction. Once a non-fiction author becomes known as having an expertize in a subject, people are more likely to read his/her next book on that subject. There are many examples of non-fiction authors who have written a series of books on personal finances, health and nutrition, business, you name it.

As for fiction authors, the examples of trilogies and series are too numerous to even start. So instead, here's a list of 6 characteristics of a successful series:
1.  The same unusual/unique characters appear in each story.

2.  The same protagonist AND antagonist oppose each other in each book, though minor characters change.

3.  The setting or location is unusual and repeated in each book so readers come to know and love it.

4.  The protagonist has a crucial goal or need that unfolds and develops throughout the series. This creates a story arc for the entire series.

5.  Each story presents a new crisis which the hero has to resolve in that book, but the larger crises builds throughout the series, to be resolved in the last book..

Some series don't have an overarching goal or crisis other than the consistent protagonist, who is finally defeated in the last story and others have different antagonists in each story, but the best series have both a story arc for each book AND a story arc for the entire series.

Challenge: How can you turn your book, whether fiction or non-fiction, into a series in order to build on the momentum you have started?

CONGRATULATIONS! You've completed 30 days of InSeMaMo!

September 29: the twenty-nineth day of InSeMaMo
Today's challenge is to create a marketing plan for yourself.

I've thrown a lot of huge marketing challenges at you this month. Most of them cannot be done in a day, and many of them require ongoing effort. 

Before you begin to feel like you've become a marketer who also wrote a book, instead of a writer who also markets your books, let's try to make this reasonable.

Getting book reviews, a community that will spread the word about your books, and direct sales are your end goals: the first two because they will funnel into the last. Now you need to choose which activities you are comfortable using to accomplish those goals.

Building relationships with the popular book reviewers and book bloggers in your field is crucial to getting the  reviews that will sell QUANTITIES of your books so I would advise getting to know who they are. Reading and commenting on their blogs or their reviews should be one of your regular weekly marketing activities.

Building a community of readers who will buy and spread the word about your books is also crucial, so growing your email list is your second regular weekly marketing activity.

Everything else is optional, so build those two things  into your week and stick to them, whatever else you do.

Do you feel comfortable speaking in public? If so, do that, and take a newsletter sign-up sheet as well as your books for sale when you do.

Do you feel comfortable on Twitter? If so, make time each day to post tweets, converse and retweet for others, and grow your followers, making sure they're members of your target market.

Do you like blogging? If so, compose blogs for your target market, and offer to guest blog often, especially for  influencial, popular bloggers on your topic/genre.

Are you visually creative? Pinterest and Utube might work for you, if your target market hangs out there.

Do you like Facebook? LinkedIn? Have a presence and get to know people there.

Don't try to do it all. Focus on what works for you, and keep it simple. Tomorrow is my last marketing tip, the most important one of all.

September 28: the twenty-eigth day of InSeMaMo
Today's challenge is to explore the new site, Wattpad, and determine whether it could work for you.

Wattpad is a social site dedicated to storytelling. Authors, both emerging and already published, write stories on this site which are free for readers. The readership here is huge, and readers can and do discuss with the authors and with other readers the stories they are reading.

Authors can benefit from using Wattpad in three ways:

1. They gain a huge beta readership for a new project and can use the feedback they receive to refine their book before publishing it elsewhere for pay.
2. They can attract new readers by writing short stories which involve the characters in an already published  book or by offering free on Wattpad the first part of a series.
3. They can increase current readers' commitment to them by participating in the direct social connection with their fans that Wattpad offers.

For detailed instructions on setting up a Wattpad account, check out: 
http://writerscircle.com/2014/08/how-to-publish-on-wattpad.html

Or just go to http://www.wattpad.com/writers  and look around.

Caveat: Be aware that any time you offer a manuscript publicly for strangers to read, you are opening yourself to piracy. I don't know whether or not it happens on this site, but it does happen.

September 27: the twenty-seventh day of InSeMaMo
Today's challenge is to find out what you can do to make your website mobile friendly.

You've put a lot of effort into designing your website - giving it the tone and look you want, creating quality content, increasing your SEO, blogging, displaying your books and e-books...

And suddenly, the online world is changing. More and more people are going online through mobile devices instead of computers and laptops.

Is your website clear, readable, inviting on a tablet? Is it still a successful marketing tool on a smartphone? If you always access your site on your laptop, check it out on your mobile device (or someone else's if, like me, you don't own a smartphone) and see how it measures up. 

Read this article if you're not happy with what you see:
http://www.copyblogger.com/mobile-friendly-website/
Your site provider might also have suggestions on how you can go mobile.

September 26: the twenty-sixth day of InSeMaMo
Today's challenge is to look into creating videos and podcasts to promote your book/e-books.

I will admit up front that this is a challenge I have yet to take myself. New technology isn't my strong suit. But UTube, book trailers and podcasts are too important to ignore. Since I can't advise you on using them myself, I will give you some good links to go to. (Those of you who have used them, please share your experiences in the comments section!)

Three links for creating videos:
http://buildbookbuzz.com/how-to-create-a-video-with-powerpoint/#comment-61346

http://thefutureofink.com/ebook-publishing-repurpose-ebook-content-part-2/

http://thefutureofink.com/blog-to-vlog/

And an inexpensive model: Utube/videos/whiteboards
http://7barrytmartin.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/different-ways-to-promote-your-writing.html)

Podcasts work best for authors of non-fiction - create a series of podcasts discussing a few of the points in your book - but fiction authors can use podcasts to read chapters of their stories or short stories based on the characters in your novel.

And finally, here are some tips on maximizing your use of Utube. They apply best to businesses or non-fiction writers, but there's good information here for fiction authors using Utube, also.
http://www.firepolemarketing.com/promote-youtube-videos/

Have you used video to promote your books? Share with us your experiences and thoughts!

September 25: the twenty-fifth day of InSeMaMo
Today's challenge is to plan a book giveaway.

A book giveaway is not, in itself, a very good marketing tool. After all, you want to sell your books, not give them away, right? I've heard the argument that it's a good way to get people to try you out if you're new, but I've only heard of it resulting in increased sales if the book is part of a series and the others are up for sale now. Even then, results are mixed. I've seen studies that show people who upload free books more often than not, don't read them. And just because someone puts his name in to win a free book doesn't mean he'll buy it if he's not the winner. In fact, they rarely do, because by the time the winner is announced, the sales appeal of the blurb that made them submit their name has faded.

Marketing is all about persuading someone to do something. When you've put in the effort to make them interested in your book, is the action you want them to take really to sign up for a giveaway?

I've talked to authors who held book giveaways on their Facebook page and their website, and claimed that it increased traffic to those sites tremendously, but didn't increase sales. I've tried a Goodreads giveaway and my 3-5 free days on Kindle, and I got healthy responses, but neither resulted in substantially increased sales.

Amazon rankings only count sales, so you can give away as many books as you want, it won't increase your Amazon ranking.

Goodreads giveaways basically help Goodreads. They're like door prizes you donate to help Goodreads increase its clientele, not yours. And it's the same for most other social sites that run giveaways for you.

Giveaways only work for you when they are used as an enticement to convince your market to do something you do want, something that will definitely increase your sales. The giveaway has to come after the act: do this and  your name will be entered into a contest to receive a free copy of my book.

So when you plan your next giveaway, answer these five questions:

1. What is my end goal? (presumably to sell your books, since I'm assuming we're all authors.)
2. What will achieve this goal? (getting more book reviews? guest blogging? growing your email list? being reviewed by book bloggers?)
3. How can you structure your book giveaway so that it accomplishes #2 in order ultimately to accomplish #1?
4. Is your book the best thing you can give away to accomplish your goal, or should you develop or purchase another item to give away? If so, what?
5. Can you achieve the same goal through a sale or temporarily reduced price on your book rather than a giveaway?
   

September 24: the twenty-fourth day of InSeMaMo
Today's challenge is to create a news release for your upcoming book, or a press kit on your website.

A press release is a single page of information you can email or hand to the media about your book.

• It starts with a hook: why is your book release news? This is where you mention the "unique twist" I talked about in the post on How to Launch Your Book.
• Follow this with your author's bio. Why are you qualified to write this book?
• Then a short description of your book - the blurb you wrote to entice readers to read it will work here.
• Next some quotes praising your book from reputable sources - a well-known author, an authority on the subject, a magazine that reviews books, or if none of the previous, some satisfied readers.
• Conclude politely with your request for an interview, a short mention in the paper, whatever the one purpose of the press release is.
• Include your contact info if they want to contact you. Offer photos of the event/of you/of your book cover.

A website press kit is a spot on your website where journalists can find the information they need to write a story on your book or e-book, or readers can find what they need to convince them to buy your book. It includes many of the same elements as your press release:

• Your author bio (check out “How to write an author bio.”), professional photo and a photo of your book cover which they can copy and use.
• A blurb about your book which shows its uniqueness and how readers will benefit from reading it.
• Your credentials - previous books, your qualifications to write this book, expert endorsements, etc.
• A fact sheet of what is in your book if it's non-fiction.
• An optional Q&A sheet in case they don't have time to interview you themselves.

Do you have a press kit on your website? Send us the link so we can see it!

September 23: the twenty-third day of InSeMaMo
Today's challenge explores marketing strategies particularly, but not solely, useful for an e-book launch. Pick one (or two) and try it, even if your e-book has already come out.

1. Create a "Launch Team" of readers excited to help you launch your book. Set up a private FB group for them and ask their opinions when choosing your book's title, cover, etc. Send them a pre-pub draft of your ms. and ask them to post a review of it when your e-book goes live, and to help spread the word.

2. Find 3-5 Amazon top reviewers in your e-book's genre and request that they review it in advance of publication. (See the earlier post on reviews here.)

3. Use Amazon's pre-order option to boost your first-week sales, & let people know. (Check it out here.)

4. Reduce the price of your e-book significantly for the first 2-6 days it goes live to encourage people to buy it then, and boost your early sales. Let people know.

5. Run an e-book review request contest. Ask people to  post a review of your e-book on Amazon within a certain time period. Enter all who do in a drawing for prizes. As they'll have already read your e-book, offer a prize such as an Amazon gift card rather than a copy of your book.

6. Run a blog or FB contest. Create one based on some aspect of the e-book, such as the setting, theme, subject matter if it's non-fiction. Have people submit photos, anecdotes from their lives, videos, recipes, etc. You choose the winner and the prize - such as a copy of the book when it comes out.

7. Let people know. Tweet and Facebook interesting tidbits about it, Pinterest the cover or an announcement, put it on Google+, use every social site you're on, and ask everyone you know to do so also. Announce it in your email newsletter, which we discussed here.

8. Use a Pay With a Tweet Campaign to get the word out. Check it out here: http://paywithatweet.com/.

9. Consider paying for advertising. I’ve never used it, but I've heard good things about BookBub.com  Subscribe first to see how they operate.

10. Run a blog-hop or blog tour of book bloggers' sites. Tips on running a blog tour can be found here: http://www.writersfunzone.com/blog/2013/06/07/3-essential-tips-to-running-your-own-blog-tour/. Add a give-away of your book or related gift with this.

11. Offer a guest blog on the topic of your book or some related aspect that fits the host's blog, and mention your book and publication date with the URL. Add a give-away of your book to this: invite everyone to leave a comment and choose one of them to receive it.

12. Create a virtual book launch. Check out Karen Dionne's here. Karen ran the party for 3 days and included video clips from authors endorsing her book, or just welcoming people to her party, which she videoed at conferences in advance. Her book included penguins, so she got items with penguins for prizes.
2,700 people visited the website during the party, and 400 posted comments in the guest book for a chance to win prizes.  

Most books nowadays come out as both print and e-books, so if you are launching a book, I suggest combining the strategies you liked yesterday and those that you like today to have an on-line and a physical launch of your book.

Would any of these ideas work for you? Try it and let us know!

September 22: the twenty-second day of InSeMaMo
Today's challenge is to plan your book launch. If you don't have a book coming out soon, that's okay - you'll have a prototype launch ready for your next book. (Tomorrow we'll talk about launching an e-book.)

This topic would fill a book, but here are some key points to consider:

1. Choose the date and venue.
Deciding where to hold your book launch depends on a number of things such as the type of book, subject matter and setting, what you can afford to spend and your contacts. Here are a few examples:

• If your book is a genre book and there is a convention for writers and fans of that genre, consider booking a room at the conference center or hotel for your launch. If this is expensive, can you go in with another author (or two or three) and have a joint launch? Could you launch a non-fiction book at a convention on that subject?
• a friend of mine has published a book of poetry and artistic photos inspired by her trips to Malta. Her launch is in a small art gallery, at no cost to her. Her launch will bring her friends and contacts into the art gallery and the gallery owner will advertize the launch to her clients: both the gallery owner and the author will meet a new potential market. Win-win, at very little cost to either. Similarly, a history book could be launched in a museum, etc.
  
• book stores often host book launches at no charge to the author, but they will sell the book themselves and keep a percentage of the profit.
• Libraries might charge you for use of their room unless you can come up with a way it will benefit them and their regular patrons.
• Churches are good especially if the book is appropriate for that clientele, and if you belong to the church they likely won't charge you.
• for a children's book, a children's play center or school gym after hours is good, and if the book is geared to an older crowd, maybe a senior's rec center. If you offer to donate to them a percentage of the profits for your sales, and create an event their regular clients would enjoy, they might not charge you to use their facilities.

2. Advertize:

• prepare a press release for the local TV and radio stations and the local newspapers. If your event has a unique twist, you are more likely to get an article or media interview
  
• a unique twist = seasonal (relate it to a season or holiday theme); local angle (local author, author's childhood home, story setting, etc.); topical (ties in with current social issue or anniversary of a news event, eg. a  suicide story launched during National Mental Health Week); charity (percentage will be donated to a charity)
  
• send invitations to everyone you know - hard copy they can tape on their fridge or calendar
  
• if your local paper has a 'community events' page, list your event there
• prepare posters and put them up in the venue, in book stores and libraries, and wherever your target market goes
• ask the venue to let their regular clients know, ie, the patrons of their store/museum/gallery, the seniors who come to their center, a handout for the children at the school to take home to parents (you may have to supply this) etc.
• prepare an article on your topic and submit it to your local newspaper (mention the book and launch at the end) or to appropriate newsletters (ie, if it's an historical story, does the local history club send out a newsletter - print or online - to their members, if a business book, the chamber of commerce or business clubs)

All this must be done weeks or months in advance as many places have a monthly newsletter, or have to schedule it in in advance.

3. Entertain:
A book launch is entertainment. How will you entertain your guests so they go away and talk about the launch?

• food and drink - you don't have to feed them a meal, but parties are better with something to drink and nibble on. I had a cake decorated with my book cover. Appoint someone in charge of restocking/pouring/etc & leave it entirely to them.
  
• reading - choose a scene with action, or dialogue in which there is some conflict, and practice until you can read it dramatically. Stand to read, use a mic even if you believe you have a loud enough voice, and stop at a significant point where they want to find out what will happen next.
• appreciation - there are people you need to thank - your publisher, editor, long-suffering family. Keep the list short. A few heart-felt thanks are gracious, a ten-minute list is dull.
• music makes a nice change of pace. Do you have a friend who can sing or play WELL?
• what can you do that's fun? I know someone who bottled her own wine with the book cover on the labels. These also make good door prizes. She gets raffle tickets and every guest who buys a book gets one ticket. If it is a multiple-author launch, she gives a ticket for buying one author's book, 3 tickets for buying books by two of the authors, etc.
• tie your door prizes in with the theme or setting or something in the book (does your heroine wear scarves? there's one prize. Is it a seasonal book? get a few seasonal items.)
• dress as one of the characters in your book. If it's historical fiction, suggest your guests dress in period attire. MAKE your family do so   :-) 
• supply appropriate hats/masks/badges at the door
• Give away a copy of the book to: the person who guesses the best/funniest version of what happens next (after the section read); or who remembers some fact or name from the reading; or is wearing the most interesting apparel that ties in with the theme of the launch, etc.
• ask someone else to sell your books so you can mingle and chat with your guests. Announce a specific time you'll sit and sign books and place the signing table apart from the selling table so there's no confusion.

What do or have you done for your print book launches?