We CAN! promote our books

Why?

Greetings from Ava Pennington in sunny Florida. I've always been a curious person, and today I'd like to start with a question or two...

Why do we write?
Why do we market our books?

Hard Sell

Hello from Ava Pennington, CAN Secretary. I'm enjoying the fall weather in south Florida, which, of course, for us, just means temperatures in the high 80s instead of the low 90s!

I’m sure I’m not the only person to see subject lines like these in my email inbox:

Check this out!
Sale!
New discounts!
New Prices!
Get it now!
Order now!

Excellence in Writing

Hello from sunny Florida! Ava Pennington, CAN Secretary here, desperately hoping the calendar is wrong and summer is not almost over!  :-) 

In my previous career as a human resources executive, one of my areas of responsibility was the management of our quality control programs. Phrases such as “Quality First,” “Do it right the first time,” and  “Quality means doing it right when no one is looking” (Henry Ford), pervaded our corporate culture.

But corporate America did not invent the concept of working with excellence. God has always required excellence from His people. First Corinthians 10:31 tells us, “Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

How is this related to our writing?

ICRS is Over…Now What?

Hello from sunny Florida! Ava Pennington, CAN Secretary here, trying to get organized after a hectic week.

The 2012 International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) is over. Three jam-packed days of everything related to Christian publishing. Hundreds of booths filled with books, gift items, cards, church supplies, home decor, toys—even a “Jesus Toast Toaster,” (the less said about that one, the better!)

But why did I go? I didn’t carve three days out of my schedule—four, if you count the AWSA Banquet—to window-shop  in a mega-Christian version of Walmart.

Is It Raining At Your House?

Hi, all! Ava Pennington here from not-so-sunny Florida. As I write this, it’s raining. At least my lawn and flowerbeds are happy. Is it raining where you are? I don’t mean the weather. Is it raining on your writing?

 

Friends and Experts

Hi, all! Ava Pennington checking in from sunny Florida. They say the life of a writer is lonely. That’s true in some ways, but the advent of the Internet has connected us in ways we never imagined. It has also made research easier than ever. However, easier is not always better.

7 Twitter Rules of the Road

Hi, Ava Pennington, CAN Secretary, here. Our CAN members have been learning how to better use social media, thanks to several recent member webinars. As I apply what I’ve been learning, I've noticed some parallels with driving…

The Marketing Seesaw

Hi from Ava Pennington, CAN Secretary...

When was the last time you played on a seesaw? Maybe you called it a teeter-totter. The fun lasted only as long as the person on the other end weighed about the same as you. Enough of an imbalance and you either spent most of the time camped on the ground or hanging in the air.

A seesaw is not the only place balance is important.

It would be nice to think being an author meant spending all our time weaving words to enthrall readers. It would be nice...but not realistic. The reality of the publishing industry is that we must continuously build our platform, balancing writing and marketing. And balance is the key word…

Hopes and Fears

Good morning from Ava Pennington, CAN Secretary, in sunny Florida…

The week between Christmas and New Year is a time between times. The build up to Christmas is over. The new year has yet to begin. Anticipation gives way to fatigue. The Christmas decorations seem to have outlasted their welcome, but I’m not ready to take them down yet. And as much as I love Christmas hymns and carols, they seem anticlimactic.

But one Christmas hymn in particular speaks to the writer in me this week.

Seasons

Hi, all! Ava Pennington here from Florida…where the temperature has cooled to a mere 85 degrees. That’s about as much change in seasons as we’ll get until our version of winter finally arrives.

Seasons. They’re not limited to the calendar and the weather. We move through seasons of life as we parent babies and teenagers, experience empty nests and become caregivers for our own parents. Writing adds another layer to already full lives. So let’s talk about seasons in a writer’s life...and in the lives of CAN members.