We CAN! promote our books

Tips from the Pros: Tiffany Amber Stockton

Greetings from Sarah Sundin, currently in gorgeous Monterey for a retreat! But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to interview Tiffany Amber Stockton. Tiff is my website designer (Eagle Designs), a multi-talented and creative woman who talked me through a gazillion of my techno-idiot moments. She and her husband, Stuart Stockton - also an author - put together a fabulous interactive map on my website which is getting lots of raves. But Tiff is more than a techno-whiz - she's a multi-published author of historical romances, with two new releases this month!

Tiff, how did you get into writing?

I have been writing since grade school, dabbling here and there in fiction and nonfiction, but it wasn't until 2002, at age 26 and attending my first writers' conference, that I realized I wanted to pursue this as a professional career.

How many books do you have published?

My first book sold in 2006 and at present, twelve books in print bear my name, with one more releasing in March 2013. My two releases this month are Stealing Hearts, book 2 in the Brandywine Brides series, and Colonial Courtships, a novella collection with fellow CANer Laurie Alice Eakes, and two other authors, Carla Olson Gade and Lisa Karon Richardson.

How did you get your first book contract?

That came as a result of Jim and Tracie Peterson taking a chance on me as a new author. I sat down with Jim in 2004 at the Denver ACFW conference, and through a series of negotiations as well as revisions, the book I pitched to him sold in 2006.

CAN Book Feature: Patterns and Progress by Amber Stockton

Patterns and Progress

By Amber Stockton

December, 2009

 

ISBN-10: 1602606870

ISBN-13: 9781602606876

Shannon Delaney was right.

Every time she might consider changing her stance on what other people called progress, something bad would happen and she would be proven right again. Take the day Jacob Berringer almost ran her over in that new Model-T, for instance. And he had the nerve to suggest she'd been daydreaming? Or the Titanic. A marvel of modern invention. Look where that got them. Or how about the new tractor her brother insisted they try out. What did he get from that? A broken arm. Why can't things just stay the way they are—the way they should be?

CAN Book Feature: Hearts and Harvest by Amber Stockton

Hearts and Harvest

By Amber Stockton

September, 2009

 

ISBN-10: 1602605769

ISBN-13: 9781602605763

William's is a true riches to rags story...

 

Once members of Detroit's elite society, the Berringer family lost everything they had in the financial crash of 1893. From a life of influence and privilege, they now find themselves working a potato patch alongside immigrants and other destitute folk on borrowed land. William's resentment toward his current situation—and mostly toward God for allowing it—simmers barely beneath the surface. All it takes is one charitable visit to the fields from a lovely society darling to burst his façade of acceptance. Annabelle Lawson, convicted by her pastor's admonishing words, begins delivering food and water to the workers on her father's donated land. But as she learns the stories of the people who work there, she becomes increasingly drawn to their plight. Especially that of the inscrutable William Berringer. Can Annabelle and William overcome the stigma placed upon his family by a society that once embraced them? Will her parents remember their own meeting or forbid this budding romance altogether?

 

From Barbour Publishing

Questions to Ask to Get the Most Out of Your Blog or Web Site

All right, so two weeks ago, I mentioned that we'd discuss what works and doesn't work with blogs. Well, before we get into that, there have been some questions about what to put on a blog or a web site to drive traffic to it or make it marketable.

With that in mind, I'd like to borrow from a marketing genius and friend, Randy Ingermanson. His "Tiger Marketing" techniques and "Snowflake Method" for writers is known world-wide. You can read more about him at his web site: www.ingermanson.com and www.advancedfictionwriting.com.

Do Blogs Really Work?

In many discussions regarding a web presence, whether they be ones where I am engaged or ones where I am merely a listener, there is one question that is often asked.

Does having a blog really work?

Well, let's find out.

Meta Tags: Description and Keywords

Last week, we covered the introduction to meta tags on your web site and the importance they play in the general marketing of your web site. The best thing you want to do is put your web site to work for you. It works as a 24/7 publicity tool even when you're not sitting at the computer or out there networking on your own. Your web site is an essential tool for spreading the word and establishing a presence with your readers. Whatever you write, you can market effectively by tweaking your meta tags.

Today, we'll discuss the two prime components that search engines look for when cataloguing a web site. DESCRIPTION and KEYWORDS.

Marketing Your Web Site: The Basics

All right, so I have an apology to make. I though I had only missed 1 Friday (other than the one where I was in Minneapolis attending the national ACFW conference last week). But, when I looked back, I see the last post I made was on August 29th. Ouch! I am truly sorry for the month that has passed. I'm not sure where it went.

But, we'll pick up where we left off....marketing your web site and capitalizing on web content to let the marketing work for you.

How a Quality Web Site Can Help Build Your Business or Career

Last week, we learned a little about tips and tricks for getting an affordable web site up and running. Today, we're going to talk about how to take that web site and make it stand out to others.

Steps to Getting a Web Site

It's Tiff here again. Last week, I introduced the idea of getting onto the World Wide Web and getting connected with the internet community. It can be a scary yet exciting venture that you'll be undertaking, but I promise you the end result is more than worth any struggle or difficulty you might encounter.

Web Sites: Connecting with the World Wide Web

Hi! My name is Tiffany Stockton and I publish under the pen name of Amber Miller, which is derived from my middle and maiden names. I'm a "new kid on the block" here at CAN, but I've been involved in internet marketing for over 10 years. My fellow authors and marketers here at CAN have invited me to be a part of the weekly posting schedule, and I'm thrilled to share some of the trade secrets I've learned along the way--specifically in regard to the area of web sites and marketing yourself online.