Writer's Digest East Conference Notes Part 2

Hi All!

This is the second edition of my WDC14 notes. Again, this was a great conference and I enjoyed meeting new authors, aspiring authors, and Greats like the one below.

Michael J. Sullivan was very conversational and interesting to listen to. He knows how to sell himself and I hope a lot of people watched him more so than jotted everything he said down.

He has a way of making everything a story which is so crucial to selling and branding yourself. You have to make you interesting. You don't do that by pretending to be someone else, or writing only about your professional credentials.

You push you more than you push your product.

2.) Author Branding (Michael J. Sullivan)

• Marketing doesn't have to be scary. We shouldn't fear marketing.
• Don't fit to the brand - tailor it to you (Don't pretend to be something you're not)
• "People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it"
• I wrote what I wanted and even though it was outdated, people related because they were getting tired of the gritty trend
• Two types of branding - selling your product, and selling yourself

Define yourself in a single world.

Be active on all mediums (become accessible)

What do you want to expose?

• NK Jemision (advocate of women of color)
• Jim Hines (rape and abuse against women)
• Robert Bidinotto (right wing conservative)

Have to decide how much to reveal about your life

What is your reason for writing? Only put stuff out that reflects that

Author Bio:

• Tell a story; don't tell a boring story
• Make it resonate; tell people who you are

Email Signature 

• Links, links, links

Write 3 different blurb-lengths:

• 4 words (short bio on front cover)
• 15 words (elevator pitch)
• 1 paragraph (blurb)

Branding

• You are just as much a product as your book is; clothing, ticks, etc.
• You can make sales by who you are and not what you have

Reinforce your brand (conventions, blog, etc)

• Resonates with audience more
• If you don't tell people about you, they were make something up

Don't be someone else - Be Yourself

• Reinforce your why
• Attract people who believe in what you believe in

Establish your fan base:

• You build your fan base one reader at a time

Goodreads:

• Get reviewers at the lowest level to read it
• Whenever you find someone who likes it, have them review it
• Talk about other books, not your own (they will discover you're an author later on and it will be a more natural conversation)