Networking and personal branding has always been hard for me. I have no problem walking up and saying hi to someone, especially if they are holding a cute baby, or puppy, or planner, something I can relate to. When that happens, just try to get me to shut up.  It’s the next step that is difficult for me. The part when they say hi back and are holding your hand in a friendly shake looking at you expectantly. Bridging the moment between introduction and elevator pitch is like crossing the Grand Canyon for me. And I think it’s that way for many authors.

By nature, authors spend a lot of time alone in our heads. It’s what we do. But, being an author is not exactly a solitary job anymore. You have to get out there and mingle to sell books. Every once in a while we see an opportunity and jump on it, but have you ever been on a rope bridge? That is how those fleeting moments feel to me. I want a more solid, reliable way to cross that cavern. That bridge has come in the form of networking.

The very first day of school I asked my marketing instructor, “How do I stand out in a saturated market?” He answered, “In a world full of barking dogs, be a cat.” Okay, so do I walk around meowing, looking for a can of tuna? All semester I have been wondering what does that mean? Then, this week two of my classes tackled the topic of networking simultaneously. And the curtains flew back letting in the light! AaHaaaaaaaa!

I’ve been studying networking all week and really thinking about how it applies to us solitary authors holed up in our office or local coffee shop doing our thing. How do you network when you are literally alone? Well first of all, you get out of the mind set about trying to sell your book to every person who walks by. I have this term I like to use called ‘carnival barking’. You can’t sell books if the people walking by hear “Step right up, I’ve got something for you to see. Don’t miss out.” Do you know how many times I get an email or a post in my feed that actually uses the words “Don’t miss out”? It’s obscene. Instead focus on building a bridge (network) to people who care about the same things you care about (brand). See what I did right there?

Don’t run away screaming because I used that word from the 50’s that brings up connotations of men in smoky back rooms with sweaty handshakes wearing funny hats wheeling and dealing. That is not networking. That is film noir and if you come across it in real life, run. It ends badly for the innocent. No, networking is much easier than you think. Let’s say it again… Build a bridge to people who care about what you care about. Network to your tribe around your brand. Get it?

So how does a person who is used to solitary confinement network? As it turns out, the answer is pretty simple. Service. You may not be a Chatty Kathy, but you know how to help people right? Build bridges and leave them up for cross traffic. For example, I write zombie romance novels. If I find someone doing research on bug out bags, or survival bags in my snowmobile group and I say hey, I know a thing or two about bugging out and help them. The fact that I write zombie novels is just a happy side note. Then when a friend mentions they love a good zombie book, the person I helped is going to say, I know a lady.
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Find people you can be of service to. Solve their problems. Don’t worry about selling them a book right now. You don’t even know if they read, or what they read. Focus on being helpful. In your blog posts, newsletters and online groups, solve a problem. They WILL notice you. 50 Shades didn’t spread like wild fire because everyone stumbled across it. It spread because people were talking about it. Be what people are talking about by building your bridges.

I read an article this month about independent contractors carrying Professional Liability Insurance. My first thought was I wonder if book designers and editors carry this type of insurance. But I'm an author, I don't need it. Then I got to thinking... or do I? I did some research and the answer may surprise you as much as it did me. Turns out, yeah, yeah I do. And so do you. Self-published and traditionally published, all of us are at risk.

So what is PLI insurance, aka Errors and Omissions Insurance? Well, here I go quoting Forbes again...

"Professional Liability Insurance: this type of insurance is also known as Errors and Omissions Insurance. The policy provides defense and damages for failure to or improperly rendering professional services.  Your general liability policy does not provide this protection, so it is important to understand the difference.   Professional liability insurance is applicable for any professional firm including lawyers, accountants, consultants, notaries, real estate agents, insurance agents, hair salons and technology providers to name a few..." excerpt from 13 Types of Insurance A Small Business Owner Should Have

Back in 2008 Writer's Digest reported (read here) a general increase in authors being sued for all sorts of things from accidentally plagiarism to copyright infringement and liable. They noted even back then that it wasn't just the self publishing world being effected by this, depending on the contract, authors with traditional publishing house backing them were taking a hit in their royalties when and if the published house got sued because of something they wrote. 

In fact The Balance reported a similar article as Forbes in 2017 focused specifically on what types of insurance a writer needs. Sure enough, PLI is at the top of the list. 

Why insurance? Because by putting yourself out there, you put everything you have at risk. People get snarky when they feel their rights have been stepped on. Often times that can lead to ugliness even when it was never your intention. Why not protect yourself when all it takes is a phone call to your current insurance agent and a few questions? 

I'd love to hear from you in the comments about any experience you have in this area, both good and bad. 

Happy writing my friends!

​Okay, so the boy get's the girl in the end, it’s considered a “romance” but… did it curl your toes?

What makes a romance novel a romance novel? We all know the answer… the HEA (happily ever after) in the end, right? I say no.

The hero always gets the girl. It’s part of the formula. It’s built right in like the crusty butt of a loaf of bread, you know the piece everyone bypasses to get right into the middle. In a romance novel, the HEA is the accepted inevitability, but that's not why we read the romance novel. Or what makes the romance novel the bestselling genre of the literary world, despite what the well read, highbrow book enthuastis would like to think. Statistics don’t lie. So what keeps us coming back for more if we know how it’s going to end before we even open the cover? Simple....the toe curl factor.

Regardless of what genre romance we might read, we all turn the page for that toe curling factor. That sigh, which a good author can extract even from the hardest shelled bi#@% out there. Because if done right, the words on paper can make us not only sigh, but giggle, loosen our clothes and even sweat a little. I'm not talking about the use of hardcore language and taboo fantasies to shock us out of our underwear. Nothing wrong with that, but that is not a romance novel. It's Erotica, a whole genre of it's own, which has it's place on the bookself when done right. But is it romantic? No.

The toe curl factor I am refering to is the romantic element, which keeps us coming back for more. For example, an author has the hero show up at the heroine’s door with a string of Halloween ghost lights that sing an eerie tune instead of flowers simply because it's October 20th, her favorite holiday is Halloween and all her decorations are packed away from a move. It’s when the hero sees inside her soul. The intimacy of seeing someone so clearly, and instinctively knowing what brings them joy is the very point of romance. Another example...when the hero has to touch his woman, even if it’s just her hair while she sleeps, because he can’t stand the space between them any longer. The hunger, the insatiable need for a connection so deep, is what keeps us turning the page.  

The hero always gets the girl in a romance novel, otherwise it would not be considered a romance novel. It would simply be a good book with romantic elements. The toe curl factor is what makes a romance truly a romance novel. And what makes it worthy of a place on my bookshelf is how many times my toes curled while I read it.

Which book curled your toes and got you hooked on romance novels? Tell me about it in the comments below...

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Not only is cutting yourself some slack allowed, but absolutely necessary! First off I'd like to say this blog post was inspired by a reader's comment. I had been kicking it around for few days and it was one of those topics that tug at your sleeve, but you dismiss as not share worthy. After reading her comment, I knew it needed to be said.

Cut yourself some slack!

I totally understand that feeling of wavering faith in your talent and/or lack of inspiration. I am digging my way out of a two year dry spell myself. The last three years have been ....trying. Does that word even begin to cover it? NO... not really. I've been dealing with the same things many of you do, family health and relationship issues. I am blessed to have made it out the other side, a bit worse for the wear, but marriage intact. And although we often survive these life altering events, our creative juices dry up simply because the emotional juices take up all the space in your life. And... that's okay. It is what you need at the time, and although it may stall you and whatever your passion is for a short time (or long time), your calling will be there when you are ready to pick it back up. That's the beauty of a calling. It isn’t going anywhere because it is part of who you are. It may emerge on the other side of the path you're walking a changed thing, that's because you have changed. But it will still be there waiting for you.

So as I sit here keyboard in hand, facing the annual writer's event NANOWRIMO, an intimidating tradition even among the most seasoned writers, I began to listen to the voices in my head that were telling me.... yes of course I have voices in my head, I'm a writer, there are voices, arguments, pasionate kisses and murderous intentions all rolling around together in there, all hours of the day, but I digress.... the voices were particularly harsh telling me there was no way I was ready to complete a novel in a month. And I began to listen. And then I began to worry they were right. Until I realized, all I had to do was cut myself some slack. My creative juices are just starting to move again. No need to let this goal wring me dry again.

I decided to jump in and see what happened. Many writers don't finish NANOWRIMO. It's a tall order. Much like a Marathon, the goal is not to win necessarily, although that would be fantastic, but to make it to the finish line. The point of participating is to focus and do as much as you can in an allotted time. I can do it, and enjoy it, and be satisfied with my outcome, whatever that is, because I am cutting myself some slack. That doesn’t mean I am giving up before I start. It just means that I will do what I can. (Insert goal setting pep talk of your choice here. As important as goals are, that’s not what this post is about today)

I recently saw professional blogger/ social media maven/ productivity guru Alexis aka MissTrenchcoat talk about taking a break this past summer while she moved. She had a very similar view and cemented my beliefs. Her point was that sometimes you have to take a step back to make room for growth. Brilliant analogy.
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But I will take it one step further. Sometimes you need to brave the storm and not worry about the rebuild until the wind stops blowing. Sometimes, my dear readers, the fact that you are even willing to get up and try again after all is said and done, IS the actual victory. In the meantime cut yourself some slack.
  

Well, according to Psychology Today it is the difference lies with intention. The art piece intending to capture the beauty of the form is erotica and the piece intended to invoke sexual response is porn. I call Bull shit.

I believe all the Mom’s buying hot novels on amazon would agree with me. The intention of erotica is to make you sweat, squirm and pant in need right along with the heroine; and hopefully when you close the book, seek out your significant other.

Anne Rice herself posed this very question on Amazon and the answers were enlightening. The word “Porn” seems to conjure images of men in trench coats soliciting un-showered prostitutes. Whereas the word “erotica” alludes to fine ladies dallying with the pool boy. Come on ladies, man up call it what it is.

With titles like Cum for Bigfoot (Virginia Wade) and All Filled Up (Dominique Angel) there is little doubt the purpose of these books is to get us off. Or at least get us started. Which leads this author, who's see her share of both, to believe there isn't any difference.

So why do we hide our mom porn behind a veil of erotica? Because no teenage boy wants to stumble on his mom’s equivalent of playboy and know that’s what it is, for one. Two, censorship will allow erotica in public, but hide the porn forcing us to use code words so Amazon will still sell it to us. 

In conclusion, bring on the double secret agent speak and litterary brown paper wrappers, as long as it gets the job done, does it matter what we call it?