What Do You Do to Advertise Your Books?

How should authors go about advertising? That's a question we all ponder on a daily basis. Should we set up a blog book tour? Should we hire someone with more knowledge and contacts than we have to set it up for us? We do interviews. We visit lots of blogs. We post on as many sites as possible. Yet sometimes we can't help but wonder if much of what we do is simply lost in cyberspace.

I hope not.

The people I've met by blogging in the last year and a half  have been wonderful and inspirational. I don't know that meeting these folks has resulted in any book sales, but my life is richer just from getting to know them.

I was interested to read an information request on one of my lists yesterday. A writer wanted to know if she had a well-edited book, could she expect to realize $1000 in sales each month from that book? She has received a variety of answers from that question, including one that said she should expect to put sales proceeds back into promotion, advertising, and building name-recognition for about the first five years.

How and when to advertise is a complicated issue. What's important to you about advertising? Do you have a magic formula to share?

Here's my next event in advertising. There'll be a lot of writers tailgating, so hope we find some new readers along the way.

Fall for a Writer Tailgate Party-Book Signing
October 15th, 2011, 10Am-2Pm
3714 Richmond Rd., Keswick, VA

Bringing People to Your Blog

You've spent a lot of time. You've researched your subject, and you've written a wonderful, informative post on your blog. But no one visits. No one comments. How can that be?

Several years ago, I started writing occasional blog posts, but no one ever saw them. No one came to visit. I had no followers.

That changed when I took the blog book tour class taught by Dani Greer. Her class was intense but productive. It turned my blogging life around. I just went to her Blog Book Tours site and found some of her excellent instruction there ready for review by anyone who visits. I hope you'll take a look.

During that class, I discovered a number of wonderful bloggers like Alex Cavanaugh who surely never sleeps because he comments faithfully on everyone's blogs, writes new blogs virtually every day, sees every movie known to man and reviews most of them, writes books, has blogfests, etc., etc. I would love to be like Alex, but my life appears to be too scattered.

Here are some tips I have learned that can help one become a better blogger:

1. Focus. Pick a topic and become known mostly for that topic. Alex is known for his movie reviews. And, no, scattered is not a good topic!

2. Visit the blogs of others. Follow the blogs you like.

3. Tweet about your blog and the blogs you follow.

4. Post regularly, even if it is only once or twice a week.

5. Write often about those things that will help others. Write sometimes about the things you love. Although I don't believe I have many artists among my followers, I sometimes cannot resist writing about art. Occasionally, I need to write about baseball as well. That's definitely breaking the rule on focus.

6. Join blogfests that interest you. You'll meet new people there and make friends. You'll expand your horizon.

7. Spend an hour a day, if you can, developing your blogging skills. If you can only spare 30 minutes, use that time to your advantage. It will be time well-spent.

8. Take a look at your blog statistics and see which posts attract the most visitors. I have never topped the number of visitors I got the day I posted my thoughts on the sudden ending to the Medium television series.

Good luck with blogging. It's an exciting way for a writer to touch readers.

If you have a chance, please visit the Night Writers blog where I am posting twice a month, 1st and 15th about travel.

Painting En Plein Air

"Hats by the Powder Horn" acrylic/canvas MMSikes

Painting en plein air has always sounded intriguing to me, but I never tried it before last Saturday. Although it rained some off and on, the weather was not too bad. Since I use a variety of materials and larger canvases than many artists, I can't move my work station quickly in the event of sudden rain showers. Because of that I found a protected alcove where I could paint using photographs I'd taken earlier in the week in the restored area of Colonial Williamsburg.

"Colonial Garden" MMSikes

I was thrilled to create two new paintings from scratch. Normally, I would never have spent all day Saturday painting. This was fun! Next time, hopefully the weather will be sunny. Maybe I'll get a French easel, but for my work it will have to be a big one.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation Blogfest

Usually my vacation trips are all about writing. This summer was no exception.

With camera in hand and a notebook at the ready, we explored Lake Tahoe in early June. How strange to see the snow-covered mountain tops soon after leaving the heat and humidity of Virginia. The lovely crystal clear lake forms an unforgettable scene. I learned from several people that it's not always so lovely. The lake can have high winds and waves that once fooled early explorers into thinking they had reached the ocean.

Our next summer trip was to Las Vegas. No, this was not a journey to visit the casinos or the shows, although I spent a lot of time parading among the slot machines to get to meeting rooms in the sprawling hotel. Instead, it was a trip to the Public Safety Writers conference where I appeared on several panels. I loved meeting with my publisher, Billie Johnson of Oak Tree Press, and other writers I knew or had wanted to see in person.

Between those two trips, I set up an artist show of my "Monti Just for Fun" loose little acrylic paintings of various glasses, bottles, and more in the Glen Allen Cultural Arts Center in Richmond, VA. These paintings feature the joyfulness of pattern and color and created a happy Slantwall display at the Center for the month of July.

In August we headed to Wisconsin where our daughter drove us over much of the eastern section of the state along Lake Michigan into the Upper Peninsula. There, at the tip of the land projection into Lake Superior, we learned a lot about the old copper mines that once brought great wealth into the area. We had dinner with Mary Ann Beckwith, one of my favorite artists, during a stay in Hancock. Later, we headed to Milwaukee for three days at the Pfister Hotel, visits to the art museum on the waterfront, and much more. Along the way, we discovered the Fonz statue by the river side, and I was happy to have my camera.

This sounds like the summer of the lakes! I'll be posting more about these trips as I find time.

Please visit Michael Di Gesu's blog and find the names of others participating in this blogfest.

On Saturday,  September 24, I'll be in Williamsburg as one of the En Plein Air artists. This sounds like a fun event if only the rain will stay away.

Artist in Residence at the Pfister Hotel

Artist in Residence Shelby Keefe - MM Sikes Photo

What fun to be the artist-in-residence! Especially at the historic Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Shelby Keefe was named the hotel's third artist-in-residence last February. A contemporary impressionistic painter and performance artist, Shelby follows a portrait painter in the residency program.

During her year at the Pfister, Shelby is occupying a large studio and gallery space right off the lobby. She keeps regular hours in the hotel, painting on her easel and chatting with visitors about her art. She also maintains a studio in the city at Hide House where quite a few artists create their work.

Besides maintaining her studios, Shelby also paints to music, performing in front of an audience where she creates 20-minute paintings. Since 2002, she has worked on 30 by 30 inch canvasses in front of viewers, often painting to music that she herself has created.

"The work is much quicker and intuitive," she says because she's performing under the pressure of time, audience, and loud music.

Because of its extensive Victorian art collection that is the "largest of its kind in any hotel in the world," the Pfister Hotel has a special relationship to the arts. As a painter, I am thrilled to walk into the Pfister and view all the special and wonderful art on view there.