Blog

The ABCs of BEA (Book Expo America)

2012-05-24T03:42:25Z

So many books, so little reasons to not attend BEAIt’s that time of year again when I’m gearing up for a real treat: Book Expo America, or BEA as it’s better known in the publishing industry. For years, I’ve attended this event and for myriad reasons. It keeps me immersed in publishing, an industry I’m passionate about. I get to hear live editors, agents, publishers and other professionals talk about what’s trending. And, when I’m there, I’m completely surrounded by something I love dearly: books!

For those who have never attended BEA, check out www.bookexpoamerica.com. This major event is held this year at the Javits Center in New York City, June 4-7, 2012. To help you acclimate with all the event has to offer, here are my ABCs to BEA. I hope these tips help to make your participation in the event the best it can be, especially if you’re a writer.

A-bsolutely Go. If you’re fortunate enough to live close to or in NYC, and your budget allows, then your participation in this event is a must. You can purchase a “basic attendee” pass for as little as $45 and use it as a tax write-off later.

B-ring Business Cards. Maximize the event by making this an opportunity to network with other professionals. You never know who you’ll meet!

C-hart Your Course. They don’t design those elaborate exhibit floor plans for nothing. It's like shopping at the market. If you need tomatoes go to the produce aisle. If you're not interested in waffles skip frozen foods. There are online tools to help you plan away before the big day.

D-o Your Homework. This ties directly with Charting Your Course. Take the time now to read through all the events and information available to you, and decide what is most important on your actual attending date. Without a game plan, it’s easy to get sucked into the vortex of information overload.

E-xpect Freebies. One of the perks of attending BEA includes all kinds of cool give-aways including books signed by some seriously great authors. Through the years I’ve met Kate DiCamillo and James Patterson!

F-ind Your Bag. In the past, publishers have given out reusable totes at their booths. Be sure to claim one as soon as you walk into the exhibit—you’re going to gather lots of paraphernalia.

G-et Connected With the Buzz. This year, there’s a lot of talk on blogging. The BEA Bloggers Conference on June 4 sounds like a boom of information and inspiration.

H-ave A Big Breakfast. If you plan on spending a few hours at the event, just know that the food can be pricey and the seating areas are often crowded! Fuel up before you go, and carry a snack or two with you.

I-dentify Yourself. Think about what you want your badge to say. Are you attending as a writer? A publishing professional? There are prompts in the registration section to choose from. What you choose will appear on your nametag for the world to see.

J-ust Pick A Few. That’s a good mantra to incorporate as you comb through the aisles all day. It will help you in all areas, from the free candy to the author signing timeslots that often overlap.

K-eep A Discriminating Eye. With more and more publishers printing fewer paper catalogs, there might be fewer for the taking. Still, be selective about what you load into your bags. Don’t want to waste trees or pull a neck muscle!

L-et Your Love of Reading Lead the Way. If you’re a writer, you love books, right? At BEA, you’ll be a kid in a literary candy store. Soak it all in!

M-ake Sure to Snag Your Tickets for Exclusive Author Signing Events. For most author signings you simply wait in line at a designated time. However, there are some high-profile authors—such as Mo Willems, Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark—that require an advance ticket. Know how to work it: http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/Show-Info/Authors-and-Books/#page=page-4

N-etwork Appropriately. If you’re a writer hoping to meet with a publisher or editor, do not use BEA as a means of hawking your wares. Handing out manuscripts at BEA is unprofessional and just plain old bad manners. However, politely introducing yourself to an editor you’ve researched thoroughly may be appropriate. Ask if you may follow up via email. Don’t ramble.

O-r, If You Can’t Attend, Plan Now for Next Year. BEA will be held at the Javits Center again, June 4-6, 2013.

P-articipate In Something. It’s easy to roam the exhibit halls like Moses in the desert. Make it your business to attend a mini conference, listen to brief talk or follow up with a webinar. Some are at an additional fee, others come with registration. This can help to maximize the event.

Q-uit Making Excuses. Especially if this is something you’ve always meant to attend. No time like the present!

R-egister Now and S-ee For Yourself. Time is ticking. You need to get your ticket soon so you can experience first-hand all the excitement of BEA!

T-ravel Light. The less you have to carry with you all day, the better you’ll feel. If you can take mass transit and avoid expensive parking that helps, too. If you’ve collected a huge haul of books at the end of the day, see if BEA offers a shipping service that will box and mail everything to your home or office so you don’t have to cart things on the train.

U-se the Nearest Bathroom. Even if nature is not calling, when you see a bathroom and a line of people NOT extending from it—go anyway.

V-isit the New Title Showcase. This is where you can get a preview of what publishers are deeming some of their hottest books.

W-ear Comfy Shoes. The floors have been carpeted in the past, which helps to keep your dogs from hurting, but a pair of comfortable shoes is a must considering all the walking you’ll be doing.

X-pect To Be Pooped. All that walking and all that schlepping will surely tucker you out…but think of all the calories you’ll burn, plus all the rich information and inspiration you’ll take home with you.

Y-A Your Experience. YA, as in Young Adult. Meaning, take special notice of Children’s Day on June 6^th where BEA shines a spotlight on the exciting category of children’s publishing.

Z-ip Back Home With New Motivation. After attending BEA you'll feel inspired to write, to network, to up your game, to read a great book or two or twelve. A BEA-utiful thing!

How to be your own boss. A freelance writer’s guide to success.

2012-03-30T15:36:19Z

When I tell people that I work from home, they often say things like: How do you stay motivated? How do you get stuff done without someone breathing down your neck? How do you not get distracted by the laundry, the snacks, the game shows? These are good questions. When I think about my freelance writing career that has thrived for nearly 15 years, I ask myself: what am I doing right? Having a successful freelance writing business is no accident. I actively employ certain tactics that work for me and so I’ll share a few of them with you. See what you think.

Do great work. This is numero uno on the list. Yes, it may seem obvious, but when you don’t have someone else editing or commenting on the work you put out there (whether it be a first draft to a client, or a blog post) it is even more critical that you are ruthless about the quality. Don’t settle for anything that is pretty good. Shoot for great every single time. Read things over, don’t rush, catch errors before others do. Experiment with new approaches, use words you’ve avoided like duplicitous or exponentially because, like the ugly fruit at the market, you just haven’t tried them yet. Create a standard for yourself and do not waver from it.

Give yourself deadlines on top of client deadlines. If you are the consummate professional, and I know you are, you do not miss deadlines. However, it’s the self-imposed deadlines that can make all the difference in moving your freelance writing career forward. Don’t just talk about launching a new website; map out action items and deadlines to make it happen. Begin with the end in mind: for example, what do you want to reflect on in December and feel proud of? The novel you always meant to write? Designing an app? Connecting with two new clients? It will happen if you plan for it.

Create a pleasing work environment. In a previous post, I talked about how the writer’s writing space is sacred. When you take an active role in designing your “spot” you will be even that more productive in your work. It doesn’t have to be a sprawling office with state-of-the-art furnishings. All it has to do is make you feel. Functionality is important and you need to have your tools handy, but you need to feel good, inspired, moved, happy, whatever, in your spot. Only you can decide how to make that happen.

Play constant head games. A writer, and particularly a freelance writer who works at home, is usually full of thoughts. And it can get awfully crowded up in that skull. To put good use to the chatter, I advise games. One of my beloved clients is a major shoe company. When I sit down to write about their amazing shoes, I pretend I am a kid in a candy store. I put on upbeat music, and imagine that the shoes are treats of all kinds. Peppermint patties, M&Ms, Swedish Fish. It keeps my writing light, fun, fresh and creative. I also go through sticky notes like there’s no tomorrow. As an idea pops in your brain, jot it down. This way you can still honor a good thought without getting side swiped from what you need to be focusing on at present. These little “games” keep my thoughts moving freely, and that helps me to be a better writer.

Get out of your pajamas. Tell the truth, how professional do you feel in a bathrobe and slippers? While some days it’s nice to stay in your pjs or workout clothes, getting dressed in “normal” clothes can go a long way in making you feel like you’re serious about this work-at-home thing. Here’s a good litmus test: if a client walked into your office right now for an impromptu meeting, would you feel presentable? Would those footed pajamas make an indelible impression?

Be a tough but fair boss. Give yourself set work hours for the day. Be really definitive about what you need to do and want to do today. I will come up with five concepts for that direct mail promotion. I will write three pages of my memoir. I will only check emails when the big hand is on the six. And I will give myself a full lunch hour to enjoy a relaxed meal away from my desk. “I will” is a good approach when you look at the day before you. And then when you recap your day, you can follow up with “I did.” Your boss will be so pleased with your progress.

Leaping at an opportunity.

2012-02-29T16:53:02Z

Today is a gift. February 29^th – it’s a day that wasn’t here last year, and it won’t be here next year. Leap Year. And with this once-every-four-years phenomenon, I remind myself that today is literally an extra day in my year that I hadn’t planned for. How serendipitous. How sweet to have an extra 24-hours nestled in between the last day in February and the first day of March. I feel like I just found a $100 bill on the ground, and now all I have to do is figure out how to spend it. Or how to savor it.

Turning things around. A writer’s perspective.

2012-02-02T16:29:30Z

A writer’s space is sacred. The familiar chair, the favorite pad and pen, the computer screen and keyboard positioned precisely at the place where natural sunlight illuminates without glare. The scented candles, the coffee mug, the family photos, the random trinkets that only make sense to you. And of course, the books. Shelves and shelves of books that you’ve read, re-read and hold onto, just in case. All of these elements fuel a feeling that makes you want to write, and write your very best. So, why mess with that Feng Shui, right? Well, I didn’t mean to. It just happened.

My desktop computer had been acting up. Blacking out when I’m on a deadline, freezing up when my writing is feeling most fluid. Nearly three years old now, I figured she was entering the terrible toddler years. Off to the Apple store we went. Some Genius determined that she would need to check in for a few days for complete diagnostics. A few days? Yes, I still had my laptop, but it’s not the same. The laptop is a drifter, a free spirit. She doesn’t care that I need to feel grounded in my workspace. Still, I had to make do, and make deadlines, but in between doing so, I used the 72 hours as a chance to turn things around. Literally.

It was like tugging on a loose thread from your most comfortable sweater. First I picked, then I pulled and pulled until the entire thing had unraveled into a heap of yarn. My office. My writing space. Without the desktop there to keep me grounded (the wires and plugs help), I somehow got this crazy idea to shift the position of my L-shaped desk. I was like a curious toddler myself, left home alone with the safety locks and gates suddenly removed. First a little shift, then a complete 180. And in doing this, I suddenly realized that my back was to a beautiful big window for years. Then came the bookshelves because they clearly dominate my office. I removed every book from every nook until the shelves were bare enough to slide the cases around the room. Suddenly, the choppy theme of case here, case there was one solid wall of shelving filled with all my favorite books. How IKEA. How beautiful.

As a result, all the stuff on the walls had to shift, too. But instead of scraps of paper, post-its, reminders and deadlines, photos, quotes and daughter’s drawings that hung in pure random order, they now collected on one big wall that I have dubbed “Wall of Inspiration.” Way to put focus around chaos.

I relocated the trinkets on my desk. Created even greater order with my job folders. Moved the lamp. After a few hours of shuffling around the elements, the room felt bigger than ever. Calmer, even. And more conducive to great writing. Feeling like I had just opened the sunroof to let the fresh air pour in, I felt revived and recharged. I had no idea how much these simple changes were inspiring me. I had turned things around and didn’t even know that I needed to. Shook up the juice to mix the pulp back in. I couldn’t wait to bring my desktop home.

When I picked up my computer at the Apple store, I tucked her under my arm. I didn’t want to spoil the surprise, so I kept the foam covering her until we arrived home. No peeking. I carried her into my office, placed her gingerly on her new spot on the desk, perpendicular with the window, and slowly peeled the wrapper off so she could see the space we would be sharing.

Her reaction was priceless. A huge smile, a bright glow, an expression that said, “cool, let’s start writing!” Oh wait, that was me reflecting in her screen.

Nice new view

Promoting the year of the dragon.

2012-01-04T18:14:58Z

This guy has advertising legs2012 is officially here and suddenly my inbox and mailbox are filled with a flurry of perfectly-timed pitches to finally lose the weight and tighten the tummy; increase my ROI for the first quarter; embrace a “New Year, New [fill in the blank]” mindset; save 20% on this spring’s extra-sneaky sneak peek at fashion; and to make 2012 the year I finally get discovered! Even I sent a “Happy New Year” email. (Hopefully, you received it. I tried for a unique angle. Let me know if I achieved that.) But I have not yet seen one promotion that taps into a theme that we are told to embrace for the next 360-something days. No one argued that it’s the wrong Chinese zodiac animal to represent the New Year. I didn’t hear a peep about ROI, P&L, RTBs (reasons to believe) or USPs (unique selling propositions), unless there were meetings I was not invited to attend. There was no creative brief to follow. The theme is all about tradition…and simply following the Chinese lunar calendar. Whether the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog or pig is next in line, is completely out of our control.

So, this year’s “hook” is...the dragon. Yes, 2012 is the year of the dragon. Chinese New Year is January 23^rd and that date kicks off a year’s worth of longevity, wealth and prosperity, dragon-style. If you were born in a dragon year, 2012 should be filled with excitement, unpredictability, exhilaration, intensity, and maybe even a bit of drama here and there. (I was born in the year of the horse. No wonder I liked the TV show Mr. Ed growing up.)

If we run with the “year of the…” theme and turn it into a dynamic marketing promotion, here are a few concepts we could kick around.

Let’s start with a PSA on PBS, the TV station that airs the wholesome children’s animated show, Dragon Tales. Four friendly dragons—Ord, Cassie, Zak and Wheezie—are spokespeople for the year of the dragon. “Hey, kids, moms and dads,” they say in unison. “It’s the year of the dragon and that means for the next 365 days remember to keep watching our show so long-tailed creatures like us can take you on fun-filled tours through Dragon Land!” Theme song plays, viewership increases, advertising increases, TV executives are happy, kids are happy, innocent shows like this one don’t get replaced by weird reality TV where people eat paper. Life is good.

An email campaign runs to boost subscriptions for a host of health and fitness magazines. “Feel like you’re draggin’ your bottom out of bed every morning? Myths about what really makes you healthy seem to dragon and on? It’s time to breathe fire into your life…get those six-pack scales…tails of steel…and discover the latest tips for living millions of years!” Call to action is a special promotion of $20.12 for one year of your soon-to-be favorite health and fitness magazine. Subscriber rates triple, magazine sales are up and the dragon saves the paper publication from extinction.

A postcard is mailed to every person who has a plan with a wireless carrier. (A lot of people, huh?) The front of the postcard features a cool, mystical illustration of a dragon with oversized wings and a state-of-the-art cell phone floating near his face. The headline reads: ”It’s the year of the dragon. The perfect time to give your cell phone wings when you drive!” The marketing objective is to get cell phone users to start using a new-fangled levitation field that floats their phone near their ear for true hands-free use while driving. Finally, both hands safely on the wheel, no matter what state you live in. The field is $99.95, no shipping and handling fees (since the field is basically air anyway), plus a money-back guarantee AND a free vanilla-scented car air freshener just for trying. Check or money order made out to Safrantasticals, LLC.

Branding the year of the dragon could be so much fun and it could really impact so many products and services, on a real social-conscience level. Movie releases, book promos, sky’s the limit. But the year of the ox? Good thing I have quite a few years to ponder that one.

Snail mail may be slow but it’s still direct.

2011-12-07T17:04:57Z

One day will I hear, "Grandma, what's this?"

Is anything fragile, liquid, perishable or potentially dangerous? Actually, yes. It’s called the United States Postal Service. The mantra you hear from the clerk or postmaster with each visit to your local post office is indeed a mouthful. It’s also predictable, almost melodic, and sometimes even a humorous tagline of sorts if he who is reciting trips on the words. (Trying saying it a few hundred times each day and you too shall trip.) But now, the very words asked to clear a package, are ironically labeling the system itself, emphasis on the fragile and perishable parts and quite possibly, potentially dangerous to those whose jobs could be lost.

Way over 200 years ago, the concept of the USPS first began. It was a time of freedom. We were a nation bound together by a system of postal roads and offices. A free flow of information between people and government. Sending a message from point A to point B was unprecedented. This was big.

Flash forward to today when people still need to get their message from A to B. In fact, they need to do so more frequently and with lightening speed. Enter emails.

So, a system that used to be associated with the Pony Express is now mockingly called Snail Mail. Our association with the USPS has gone from speedsters to champions of sluggishness. Yes, we’re in a serious paradigm shift. And yes, the trajectory of our messages has changed and while that’s wildly exciting, it makes me sad. Is the post office, a system I’ve grown up with and relied on, a system that delivers many of my clients’ promotional materials, about to become obsolete?

If so, I have to rethink a few things.

On a personal level, how will I send thank you notes to my 82-year-old aunt in Florida who doesn’t have email? How will I sneak a postcard to my husband and daughter when we’re on vacation? (Thanks for the best time ever! I write on cards with Grand Canyon sunsets and beach scenes, secretly popping them in the mail so it’s waiting for them when we return home.) What about my taste buds? After years of toughing it out, will they lose the ability to lick yucky envelopes closed? And how about Santa? Are kids going to start texting the North Pole? What reason will I have to walk down the driveway in anticipation of what could be there in that little black box with the red flag that lifts up and down? I can hear the squeaky springs of the latch opening and closing right now by my postal carrier, Stan. (Stan, wait! What did I get?)

On a professional level, what about direct mail? What about all those packages and postcards, self-mailers and catalogs that still find their way into my mailbox? Into your mailbox? Yes, they are dwindling, but that’s what makes them stand out even more these days. Direct mail just doesn’t work without the mail part.

In January 2012, the price of a stamp is going to be raised from 44 to 45 cents. Yes, I know emails are free, but you can’t hold them in your hand. You can’t yank them out of your physical mailbox, tear open the envelope, and delve into the contents. Maybe it was a greeting card from your old college roommate. Maybe it was a check. Okay, maybe it was – dare I use the term – junk mail – but so what. Maybe it enticed you, interested you, targeted you in a way that positively impacted your life.

Here’s a call to action to consider. In between your flurry of emails and reading this electronic post, put something in the mail this week. (Even if it’s a letter to me to tell me to bug off.) Together, we can change the world. Or at least help the USPS be like a stamp and stick.

First job. Steve Jobs. And a funny thing called a Mac.

2011-11-07T19:03:14Z

Telling you that I have over twenty years experience as a direct marketing writer easily dates me. Unless I started in the fourth grade, you have a general idea that I began my career in the late 1980s, early 1990s. Starting out, I was thrilled to land my first job as a junior copywriter at Doubleday Book & Music Clubs in Garden City, NY, where I was going to be writing. Yes, writing! No one cared how fast I could type, or how well I brewed a pot of coffee. (I grew up watching my parents make instant, so I didn’t even know how.) Granted, I wasn’t working on the high-concept projects that I delve into today, but I did learn the art of writing tight.

My first assignments were to write blurbs for the 100-plus books that were featured in the direct mail packages for book clubs like The Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club. But the tricky part was that I had to write a complete synopsis for each book in twenty words or less. I quickly learned that every word mattered, that there was always fat to trim, that words could influence readers, and that this process was fun!

Learning to write teeny blurbs that packed a punch

I worked on a word processor in a cubicle the size of a Chinese food container. I shared that space with a junior art director named Jennifer. I called her Yennifer, or Yen, and through our relationship (a friendship I still hold dear to this day), I learned how magical writer/art director chemistry could be. I also learned about something completely foreign to me: a Mac.

After hours one night, Yen brought me to a room down at the end of the hallway. “Lis, you’ve got to see these new computers. They’re amazing,” she said. I thought it was a broom closet, but it was a media room inhabited by only the young, brave creatives. Much like a mad scientist’s lab, it was filled with objects I had never seen before: a few, modern-looking computers with lights glowing from the screens; hands holding a quirky little thing called a mouse and it moved rhythmically along the desk, as if playing the board game Ouija; faces transfixed on the amazing things happening on the screens in front of them. Yen sat me down, and for a few hours, walked me through funny-sounding things like Quark, Adobe, Word, scroll, drag, copy, paste. I remember feeling overwhelmed and excited, as if I had just been let in on the secret to the creative person’s universe. Yen, the pioneer that she continues to be in her thinking and spirit, introduced me to a new world, a world created by a man named Steve Jobs. Back then, I had never even heard of him.

A sleek, graphic, partially eaten apple is staring me right in the face as I get to the point of this blog: life is an ongoing series of connect the dots.

I am presently reading the hefty biography of Steve Jobs. I am typing this post on a Mac. The Danielle Steel and Nelson DeMille books I used to write about in twenty words or less are now read on handheld devices created by Apple. Like pixels, or DPIs (which I’m sure Yen taught me about back then), individual dots continue to come together to broaden, enrich and expand an experience. It may not be obvious at first, but it’s happening. I draw from my foundation of writing tight to recognize when I’m rambling. (Like now.) I employ the timeless principles of direct mail when creating the latest electronic means of communicating. I take what I learned and continue to add it to what I’m learning. Looking back to move forward. No dot left behind.

Facing my blogos-fear

2011-10-11T15:22:36Z

Staring down the blank screenI love helping my clients to build their brands. It’s both an honor and a challenge to further an identity, making it sparkle like Grandma’s sterling silver on the holiday dinner table. But build my brand, as in rewrite/redesign my own website, and start blogging? That’s a bear of a challenge no matter how many years I’ve been doing this for others. Still, in my book, challenges are for tackling, so in true wrap-my-head-around-the-process style, I planned out my new website, this website, starting with an explanation of my brand essence. (A shout out to Squarespace, which is the service I used to create and manage everything here at my new site. In the past, I’ve worked with a great web designer and a programmer to help me in areas where I felt like a complete dork, such as html coding. So, it’s cool to have complete access to my site, 24/7. No excuses.)

Back to the topic of branding.

I asked myself: Who am I? What am I? How do I want others to perceive me?

I began to talk out loud, via the keyboard, thinking through the “freelance writer” part of me, and came up with the following: I am a writer. I am a good writer. I have integrity. I care about my projects. I care about my clients. I am original and unique. I have expertise and skill. Now, all I have to do is get all that down into a tiny electronic glimpse of me, which includes a headline or two and a few paragraphs of copy. Is that even possible? (Wait. Didn’t I just accomplish that with the last few sentences?)

Which leads me to where we are right now: my blog.

I’m being completely honest in saying I’ve been avoiding it like the plogue. (Lame attempt at being “punny.” Sorry.) On my old website, in the blog section, it said, “coming soon” but when months went by without posting something, it really should have read, “ain’t happening.”

I haven’t blogged up until this point for one main reason: fear. It has everything to do with messing up, sounding stupid, being lame, exposing too much, no backsies, and so on and so on.

But as a writer, I feel it’s time to face my fears and start blogging. So rather than posting posts all willy-nilly, I am here now attempting to lasso a framework around the process. Here goes.

I will:

- Blog at least once per month (or more, but not less)

- Remain focused on the following topics:

The writer’s life
My experiences as a writer for the last 20+ years
Trends, events, interesting things in the world of direct marketing and advertising

- Strive to inspire/entertain/inform my reader

- Create reasons for you to keep reading my posts – otherwise, you will righfully ask, “Why do I care?”

I will not:

- Skip weeks at a time. (I might as well go back to the "coming soon" approach then)

- Write about mundane stuff in my life (sandwiches, sleep patterns, scrapes and cuts)

I’m all a-Twitter thinking that tweets are something I should be doing too, which is why I started a Twitter account a long time again, but I haven’t yet fully connected with that social media tool. But again, I will try not to should on myself too often. It's not healthy.

Someone decided that tweets must be 140 characters or less. What are the parameters for a blog? Since there are none, I will strive to fall somewhere in between the length of a tweet and a novella. Promise. Thanks for being here, and please tell me what you think. After all, you are my reader.