CAN marketing blog

Captain's Log, Supplemental

Blog book giveaway:
My Monday book giveaway is the Coffee Cup Bible Study books by Sandra Glahn.
My Thursday book giveaway is PINK by Marilynn Griffith.
You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Monday, I'll draw the winners for the Coffee Cup Bible Study books and post the title for another book I'm giving away.

FIRST: This month’s novel excerpt is SQUAT by Taylor Fields (posted below).

Marketing for writers!

The members of the CAN (Christian Authors Network) Marketing blog entitled We Can! promote our books, formally welcome you to join our little corner of cyberspace.

Check us out at: http://canblog.typepad.com/canbookmarketing/

Twelve authors will be participating in this blog:

Monday: Tricia Goyer and Gail Gaymer Martin
Tuesday: Cyndy Salzmann and Allison Bottke
Wednesday: Suzie Eller and Sharon Hinck
Thursday: Susie Larson and Camy Tang
Friday: Mary E. DeMuth and Kathi Macias
Saturday: Jill Nelson and Susan Meissner

We want this blog to be the place authors go if they want to promote, publicize and market their books.

We'll approach this from many different angles, with many different voices. Some of us have many books out, while others are promoting their first. We've all had some level of success in our marketing endeavors, and some blunders too. We'll share interviews, insights, and creative ideas with you with humor, candor and a dose of humility.

It's our hope that you'll tell your friends about this new blog, that you'll make a comment or two, and that you'll walk away from this blog with many practical and insightful ideas.

Camy here: I’ll be posting every Thursday on website marketing for fiction, focusing on blogging. Fiction writers have to approach things a little differently than nonfiction writers, so I hope to offer tips specific to novelists and recount my utter disasters to keep all you guys from making the same mistakes.

TMI:

Writing: I have to give mucho kudos to Dineen Miller for helping me brainstorm my book. She’s a gem!

I posted another synopsis tip at my Story Sensei blog today.

I have come to realize I need to actively set aside an hour a day to read—books in my market (chick-lit, both secular and Christian) and books for review. My TBR pile has reached terror-inducing proportions.

I had a great time at the romance readers book club at Borders in Valley Fair Mall last night. Everyone talks about books they read the past month, so I plugged BEAUTY AND THE SPY by Julie Anne Long, SPYING IN HIGH HEELS by Gemma Halliday, A GIRL’S BEST FRIEND by Kristin Billerbeck, and MURDER, MAYHEM, AND A FINE MAN by Claudia Mair Burney. The first two are secular, the last two are Christian—I figured those two particular Christian titles would interest the ladies, who are mostly non-Christian. Shelley Bates and MaryLu Tyndall go to those meetings, as well.

Diet: Doing good on the exercise front, although I don’t know why I have such terrible headaches at night the past few weeks. Maybe because I haven’t visited my chiropractor in forever and my neck has problems, regardless of the good the exercise is doing for it.

I have been drinking plenty of water and my caffeine addiction is quite healthy, thank you, so the headaches can’t be because of either of those.

Shortbread count = 0! Starbucks blackberry green tea frappuccino count = 1. :(

Comments

Mary DeMuth said…

Thanks for promoting the CAN blog, Camy, you loud Asian chick, you. Next thing you know, you'll be sporting a nose ring....

Fri Sep 01, 09:12:00 AM 2006

Ruth said…

I hear you on the terrors of the TBR pile! I have GOT to seriously whittle mine down...before I start have nightmares of SERIOUSLY being smothered by books. :P

Fri Sep 01, 09:50:00 AM 2006

Georgiana Daniels said…

I'm surprised that you don't set aside an hour a day. Did I read that right? You must be a speedy to read all that you do in under an hour! Or maybe I'm just slow. OK Camy, how big IS your TBR pile? Inquiring minds want to know.

Fri Sep 01, 10:33:00 PM 2006

PatriciaW said…

How DOES one whittle her TBR pile? I can learning about such interesting books from yours and other blogs and from online writing groups. So I keep adding. I'm reading 8-12 books a month, although I've slowed a bit this past month in order to focus more on writing. Now if there were a moratorium on new releases...but then what would I have to look forward to???

My goal for this year was to read as many "new to me" authors as I could. I'm shocked by how many authors there are! Thinking about this recently, I discovered that although I haven't read the specific books on my list, in some cases, I've read one of the author's works. I've decided to strike them from the 2006 list as read and put the specific titles on my 2007 list. (I actually keep a spreadsheet.)

If you're going to drown in something, why not a stack of books?

Sat Sep 02, 10:18:00 AM 2006

Anonymous said…

The CAN marketing blog looks great. Congrats for being a part of this new venture! Can't wait to see the fabulous marketing resources and info that come from the stellar list of participants!

Sat Sep 02, 08:30:00 PM 2006

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures...

Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And...

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci...

Writing Progress on Camille's Next Book

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Lady Wynwood and the Senhora’s Bargain excerpt

Here’s a snippet of the Lady Wynwood novella I’m posting on Patreon at the moment: “If you will follow me?” the butler said and led the way up the staircase. The first floor hallway was long and sumptuous, with paintings on the wall and small statues on spindly tables next to elegant Chinese faces. The sound of music was slightly louder, but still muffled, and Laura could hear no voices at all. On the second floor, after traversing a narrower hallway with closed doors on either side, the butler knocked at a door at the end. A deep, smoky voice bade them enter. The room was dim but for the roaring fireplace and a few well-placed but low-burning lamps. The furniture looked comfortable and was upholstered in shades of burgundy and hunter green, and although the light did not reach the heavy curtains, she assumed they were the same colors. From the far corner approached a woman who had been standing behind the heavy wooden desk situated there. She was dressed in a dark burgu...

January 11, 2025 Weekly Roundup

KICKSTARTER: My Kickstarter is starting next week! Look for a post here on Patreon and an email newsletter. THIS MONTH ONLY: Subscribe to Tier 3 to get a book box in May https://www.patreon.com/posts/119485728/ BONUS: Protection for Hire Behind-the-Scenes: Wings Domestic Abuse Shelter https://www.patreon.com/posts/119266114/ BONUS: Sneek peek video of the Special Edition hardcover of Lady Wynwood’s Spies Volume 1 https://www.patreon.com/posts/119321861/ REMINDER: I posted my book release/posting schedule in my New Year’s post https://www.patreon.com/posts/119127050/ REMINDER: “Bidding on Treason” novelette available for all paid subscribers for this month only! https://www.patreon.com/posts/119191277/ Free books: Sherri Wilson Johnson, Christian Romantic Suspense https://sherriwilsonjohnson.com/bayside-betrayal-rr2025/ In October, my novella Bento and Betrayal releases in the multi-author Christian Suspense anthology, Don’t Blink. C.D. Gill, who writes Clean R...

Lady Wynwood #7 early release Kickstarter

I worked on my first Kickstarter and it got approved! It’s for the Special Edition Hardcover of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 1: Archer and the release of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 7: Spinster. I contacted my graphic designer about the Special Edition Hardcover of vol. 1: Archer—it’s going to be SO beautiful! The Kickstarter focuses on the Special Edition Hardcover, but it’ll also include vol. 7: Spinster so that it’ll sort of be like a launch day for vol. 7, too. A third special thing that’ll be in the Kickstarter is Special Edition Paperbacks of all the books in the series. They won’t be available in stores, just in the Kickstarter (and later, from my website, and also in my Patreon book box tiers if I decide to do them). The Kickstarter is not live yet, but you can follow it to be alerted when it has launched. (You may need to create a free Kickstarter account.) Follow Camy’s Kickstarter

Free short story: How Laura Met Aya

One of the perks of Tier 2 and higher in my Patreon is that they get a bonus short story twice a year. They voted to read about how Laura met the Senhora and so I worked on “Lady Wynwood and the Senhora’s Bargain” at the end of November and I’m just about finishing it up right now. When outlining this story, because it was so intertwined with how Laura meets Aya, I ended up writing a short story about how they met, which became the prologue. (And then the story of how Laura meets the Senhora exploded into a novella instead. I’m not sure exactly how. I just kept writing and writing and writing …) Anyway, as a Christmas gift, I decided to give my patrons the prologue of “Lady Wynwood and the Senhora’s Bargain” because it’s a complete short story about how she met Aya, which I think some of you might like to read. (In order to see the post, you may need to register for a free Patreon account and then Follow my page for free). Enjoy! “Lady Wynwood’s Encounter” (how Laura met Aya)

Camy’s upcoming publishing schedule

After the craziness of the Kickstarter, I hope to put Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 7: Spinster up on Amazon probably in the first week of March. I am currently working on a Christian contemporary romantic suspense, Year of the Dog , because it’s due for the multi-author anthology I’m in that releases in May, Danger in the Shadows. I’ll probably post the chapters (including the annotated chapters) on my Patreon, but I won’t be able to give a free .epub copy to my paid subscribers since it’ll release in the anthology in May 2025. The chapters will be taken down in May, so be sure to read it while it’s still up on my Patreon. I’ve been posting my Christian contemporary romantic suspense, Protection for Hire , but there’s a chance I might pause it in order to post Year of the Dog , because I am realizing I’m not very good at juggling two contemporary projects at the same time. If I do pause it, I’ll start up again after Bento and Betrayal is done, probably sometime in the...

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...

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Lady Wynwood #7 early release Kickstarter