My Role with Apex Book Company

Hi everyone,

As you know, I’ve been looking for new professional opportunities. After posting about my pursuit, I had a good discussion with Jason Sizemore who runs Apex Book Company who decided to help me out while I continue to look for a full-time job.

For a few hours a month, I’m going to be consulting and directing their marketing efforts to help coalesce their initiatives into a big picture strategy I’m designing. Apex has a really smart and dedicated team of people in place that the previous Marketing Director, a lady by the name of M.G. Ellington, helped put together. My efforts will be behind-the-scenes.

I’m really excited about helping Apex for a few reasons. Months ago I turned to a few recruiters who suggested that since this is an employer’s market, in order to get a good job, I really need to keep my online marketing and writing skills fresh. I’ve been able to do that with my writing, because like so many writers, that’s something I’ve always done, even when I was working. Now, I’m able to elevate my visibility for online marketing and pad my resume a bit.

Another reason why I’m happy to provide a few hours of marketing support for Apex, is because this is my chance to apply six years of online marketing knowledge to the publishing industry. Apex produces quality books, anthologies and a magazine. Jason has made it clear that I wouldn’t be given any special treatment. So, if I want to publish a story through Apex, I better write a good one.

Believe me, I am doing everything I can to step up my writing and my career to new heights. I’m excited, because ever since I posted my news about how things have been going, so many people like Jason have reached out to me cheering me on. I don’t know what 2011 is going to bring, but I’m ready to find out.

If you’re job-hunting like I am, I really hope you consider reaching out to uncover potential opportunities–regardless of whether it’s a volunteer position or a few hours a month. I know I am.

– M

December 26, 2010
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Chocolate versus Vanilla Personas

A couple of days ago I had the chance to sit down with my friend Jason Blair. Jason is an interesting guy; he’s a very talented game designer and has even written for a few video games. One of the things we talked about was the broad variety of writer’s personas we’ve seen on the web and how people might perceive a writer not just from a reader’s standpoint — but from an employer’s standpoint.

What’s in a Plain, Vanilla Persona?

A vanilla persona is a safe persona. The content that supports this persona doesn’t include pictures of drunk people or swear words. Content doesn’t strive to be edgy or cool just to get readers; topics tend to be evergreen. If photos and post subjects are personal, they’re the type you’d share with an acquaintance rather than a lover. This type of persona also translates well offline because people’s expectations about the real person aren’t as controversial as someone who has a chocolate persona.

Examples of my vanilla topics include: commentary on relevant trends, what I’m working on now, reviews of software or tools, insight into writing or the freelancer’s life, recipes, etc. Right now, my goal is to build my brand as a writer. My ability to do that depends upon the content that I have available for people to read. My goal may sound familiar to you: project my successes and minimize my failures.

Many writers online are striving to achieve the appearance of success, regardless of whether or not that’s actually true. After all, would you buy a book if it’s poorly reviewed? What about hiring a writer that had to resort to asking donations via social media to pay their car payment? While that may be honest (e.g. writers tend not to make a lot of money) it sounds like that writer can’t make enough money to to survive. Without realizing it, that type of commentary then leads to: “Well, why aren’t you making money? You must be a bad writer.”

Several authors, like Lori Devoti, Matt Forbeck, James Lowder, etc. have a vanilla persona. They talk about their writing and they share some personal tidbits, but they don’t make it a point to be in-your-face or be a part of every internet kerfluffle that hits the web. An example of a writer’s vanilla persona who I really admire is Holly Lisle.

In my case, I’ve also got two aspects of my personality. “Monica the author” is a lot different from “Monica the business professional.” However, we are one and the same individual. A vanilla persona allows me to blend all those pieces together without requiring me to spend buckets of time maintaining an edgy or cool personality separate from my blog. I’ve been experimenting with that on Violetwar.com, but find that it’s too time-consuming to maintain one persona let alone two.

A Chocolate Persona?

A chocolate persona is full of flavor. It’s the type of online personality that swears and comments on everything under the sun to sound cool, hip and popular — whether it’s relevant to their writing or not. It’s the type of persona that whines when things don’t go well and tries to start internet fires to get traffic. People who have chocolate personas incur opinions about their personalities, which doesn’t always work when you meet them in person.

There’s a lot of writers who fabricate a persona that is either nothing like them in real life or seems to be more grandiose, akin to reality television. That’s their choice and to them — being popular online means something. Would a young adult publisher want to buy my novel if I had a foul mouth? Probably not, unless I had a pen name. Would a business put their content in my hands if I infused internet slang into everything I wrote? I can tell you that their answer would be “No,” because I’ve heard some people complain about that before.

Don’t get me wrong: having a popular persona online can provide a lot of benefits for a writer. In some cases, it absolutely makes sense for a writer to create a chocolate persona. However, there is another piece to consider. Why does it matter? What’s the point of having a persona if you’re not going to do anything with it? After all, I could be the most popular writer online but if I don’t make any more money than a writer who isn’t popular online? Then what good does it do me? At the end of the day, all writers have to make a living somehow. Being a writer means you write more than forty hours a week; sometimes you have a full-time job, sometimes you don’t. Our time is limited. If we have to market ourselves, wouldn’t you much rather spend the time that you have doing something that matters?

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Popular authors online have to sell more books. Right? *shakes head* Not necessarily. I cannot tell you how many conversations I’ve had and how many threads I’ve followed where writers say it’s had little to no impact on their sales. Not to mention, more than a few have complained that the time they took to create that popular persona could have been used to *gasp* write.

Online marketers know the reality behind internet popularity all too well. You can drive tons of traffic to a web page, but if people don’t convert (e.g. take an action) then that traffic is useless. Brand awareness may be a goal, but often that comes with its own price. What do you want to be known for? Your writing or your foul mouth? There are other ways to get your name out in front of potential readers without pissing people off.

Lastly, it is a lot harder to maintain a persona that is an advertorial or a well-marketed aspect of anyone’s personality for long periods of time. Trendy personas are not sustainable unless you constantly put the work into it. Not to mention, it can be very exhausting if you are known for “this one thing” and have to keep up those appearances.

The Proof Is In The Data

Although this is a pretty simplified view of personas, the last thing that I’d like to point out is that you can prove how well your persona is working with data. What kind of persona do you need? Well, first you need to have some goals. Goals have to be measurable, traceable and provable. Then you need to figure out how to track those goals with a few, different metrics that are related to what you’re trying to accomplish. The more you look at your data, the more realistic your expectations will become.

For example, just looking at “hits” is pretty meaningless for several reasons. A “hit” can be a spam bot, a search engine spider, a refresh on a page or a visit. I’ve seen retailers who got really excited about getting thousands of hits in one day, only to find out their sales had decreased and the traffic came from a hacker. Web analytics tracks a three-dimensional visit to your website. Use that data to support your existing content and test new ideas. I guarantee that you’ll be happier in the long run because that data will take the guesswork out of what you’re doing. After all, your data can help shape not only when you post, but how often and what you post as well.

By using data to your advantage, you can create a persona that you’re satisfied with. What’s more, you can make your persona more manageable and (here’s the best part) get back to writing what you want to rather than what you feel compelled to.

November 17, 2010
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Semantics, Word Choice and Personality

Lately, I’ve been obsessing about semantics, how we choose our words, and what effect a personality type has on both. Take self-promotion just as an example. To tell an introvert to get out there and “Sell yourself!” might make someone feel uncomfortable. Turn that around for a second and say something like, “Help someone know more about you.” Same thing. Different words.

No, this idea isn’t new. It’s a different take on the old adage, “Doesn’t matter what you say, just how you say it.” There’s two sides to the application of this powerful idea. There’s the writing side, where we have to make decisions about the words we use. There’s also the semantic side, where we interpret meanings of words that may illicit a response or a reaction.

For one example, consider the dreaded “critique.” I don’t know one writer who doesn’t love to write. I do know, however, a lot of writers who have no idea how to critique or receive criticism — especially when it’s a rough draft. If you’ve experienced this, you know what I’m talking about. They nitpick the placement of a comma. They argue with you about how you feel when you read your story. They write one draft and think it’s finished. Here, too, semantics and word choice come into play. There’s a huge difference between saying, “I did not care for this story, but someone else might.” versus “This story sucked.” Sure, different people critique poorly for different reasons; they’re insecure about their own work, they’re envious, they’re inexperienced, etc. It may be hard, but I find you have to balance “what was said” with “what they meant.” In most cases, I find the reason why someone gives you a bad critique is because they don’t understand the difference between a critique and a review. Of course, you have to mull over comments in a way that doesn’t drive you insane. After all, you have to have confidence in your work or you wouldn’t write.

A lot of writers are introverts by nature; I’m guessing this affects how we react emotionally to words and what we write. I feel that it’s tough to be an introvert simply because there are so many words associated with this personality type that have negative connotations. We’re loners. Outcasts. Freaks. If you’re a writer trying to pursue a professional path, though, we’re often forced to be both. (I am an introvert by nature and an extrovert when I have to be.) Sure, my writing changes depending upon what mood I’m in. What’s fascinating to me, though, is experiencing this simple idea from the reader’s viewpoint.

By being able to understand what their personality type might be, our writing functions as an emotional catalyst for our readers. Yes, marketers do this all the time, but this idea doesn’t just apply to ad copy or non-fiction. Often, the most popular stories aren’t the ones that are written the greatest; they’re the ones that can reach a reader on an emotional level. Maybe, for the rest of us to do the same thing, we just have to find the right words to do it. Maybe, for us to do that, we have to ask ourselves what touches us.

October 18, 2010
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[Resource] Creating a Promotional Trailer for Your Book or Game

After creating several promotional videos using the tools I have available, I wanted to share with you how I do it. This is a low, low budget version that requires a little bit of creativity and a lot of puzzle-making skills.

Here’s a qutoe:

After seeing some of the trailers that I’ve created, a lot of people ask me how easy it is to create a book trailer and whether or not it’s worthwhile. A lot of people are claiming that one easy way to promote your books is to offer a video book trailer through YouTube! or your website. While the jury is still out as to whether or not sales can be attributed to someone watching a video book trailer, they can help spread the word and, for horror, can allude to the theme of the work. — SOURCE: Creating a Promotional Trailer for Your Book or Game on FlamesRising.com

Hope you get the chance to check out Creating a Promotional Trailer for Your Book or Game on FlamesRising.com!

September 28, 2010
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[Opinion] Net Neutrality and the Future of the Web

Last week, Google and Verizon released a joint statement about their thoughts on net neutrality. This post entitled Press review: Google and Verizon announce a joint proposal for an open internet that was featured on Teleread.com has a nice, in-depth review of what this might mean for the future of the web.

I highly recommend reading that round-up because it highlights the public opinion and offers some industry editorials as well.

Rather than re-hash every piece of commentary that’s out there, I’m going to fast-forward a few years and share with you some of my predictions. In my mind, I feel that we need to start thinking about how the internet’s impending changes will affect how we shop, how we work, and how we interact with others. Why? Well, read on…

First, I believe that the gradual changes I’ve seen over the past year or two, coupled with the fact that most policy-makers do not understand the technology (or data) behind the web, indicate that net neutrality will cease to exist in as little as five years.

The end result of net neutrality not passing will not just affect what content is posted and read, but may also hurt our pocketbooks. We may have to, as they say, “pay to play.” I do not feel that it is unreasonable to think that our internet bills may one day reflect our actual usage, nickle-and-diming everything from sending an e-mail to writing blog posts. Frequency of usage and the type of usage (e.g. video streaming or MMOs) might be two factors in determining charges; where you host your content on the web may be a third. Larger companies and higher trafficked websites may get charged a premium service as opposed to the mom-and-pop blog for content and deliverability, but there’s a good chance that unless search results are “net neutral” after a fashion, those mom-and-pop shops will be a lot harder to find. As a result, entrepreneurial ventures will decline, unless those businesses can provide a valuable or unique service for the big players.

I should point out that I believe that we have heard the first death knell of net neutrality for this internet. The more legislation and the more corporate this internet gets, the more determined other people might be to create a second or even third internet that operates outside of places like Google, etc. Mind you, I do believe that the mobile web is its own internet for all intents and purposes, but we’re not to the point where everyone has a smart phone. (I don’t.) As long as we’re able to access the internet from a computer, changes to the mobile web will not affect everyone. There’s enough users to warrant changes to the mobile web, but if you want to ever be in for a real shock, talk to anyone outside of the U.S. and ask them about their cell phone bills and connectivity. The business of cell phones is very, very different here in the States than it is elsewhere. As a result, the “internet” will evolve very differently according to where you live and where you’re accessing it.

I also believe that as we continue to move toward a commercial web, there will be some standardizations that will have to come through the pipe. You’ll probably see a lot more transparency with celebrity and blogger endorsements once the FCC has had a chance to catch up. The big one will be whether or not web analytics packages will standardize their data across all platforms. A visit on one site should equate to a visit on another, even though right now it does not. Additionally, tagging sites for pirating content will become increasingly easier. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the tech used to discover plagiarism on the web now will be licensed and released to more companies.

Positioning will, undoubtedly, be the biggest problem for every business, author, etc. that’s out there. I would not be surprised if most browsers changed to include mandatory paid advertising as part of the default frame. I also believe there’s a good chance that website directories will actually make another appearance further down the road and will be sold direct to professionals for different verticals. Yes, some of that is being done now, but as positioning becomes more and more of a concern, everyone will rush to either a) embrace whatever new tech has popped up or b) pay a premium to see who the players are in order to sell to them. Keep in mind that I think some data that we can access for free now will start to disappear under a pay wall as we continue forward because data, not advertising dollars, is where the real money on the web is. Unlike cable or television, with the right web analytics package, you can see everything you need to know about the visitors that are coming to your website. That data, and the people that know how to read it and what to do with it, are more valuable than the content itself.

By far, the most depressing thing about the death of net neutrality are two things: one, there is a strong potential for censorship and two, there is also a good possibility that businesses who focus solely on one type of marketing and sales (e.g. either 100% online or offline) are the most at-risk to lose revenue and sales.

First, let me address my censorship concern. When you have so much content out there — who would know when something is withheld? We are at a point in our history of communication where there is so much content it is hard to know what to listen to and what to pay attention to. And, quite frankly, it is only going to get worse. In my mind, that scenario is just as bad as having no communication and getting spoon-fed the occasional news piece. Second, the reason why businesses with one focal point will be even more at-risk is because the market is still changing — and not necessarily for the better. I’m a strong proponent of long-term planning for that reason. However, it’s difficult to plan long-term when you have no idea what changes will occur online. Not to sound doom-and-gloom, but some changes could mean disastrous results for certain verticals because they put all their proverbial eggs into one basket. To stay soluble, I feel that businesses should consider both online-and-offline components to have revenue streams from both avenues.

The global stage will also have an impact on the future of the web, and I feel that will continue to increase. If (and this is a big “if”) people from all over the world can continue to collaborate, share information and discuss topics freely, then I believe we will begin to see a bigger impact on language and culture. (Given enough time, I wouldn’t be surprised if languages started to disappear as our vocabulary and languages begin to homogenize.) Cracking down on access to the web and where you might visit will slow that process down considerably, which is why I can see some groups that will pop up to fight back against internet culture out of fear for losing their identity.

Many people point to the web as the “Great Equalizer” and I have to agree with them. Once you start to dictate how and when people can interact with the web’s content through different pay structures or a behind-the-scenes hierarchy that few have the ability to affect, that will change. As a result, sites that are unpopular or new will have a helluva time trying to climb uphill unless they get linked to from one of the major players.

Much of what I’ve said here is simply my thoughts on where things might be headed. In this post, I’m not recording them because I need to be right. Rather, I’m writing them down because I feel that we all need to start thinking about our future and I’d like to hear your opinion.

Have you thought about what might happen? Are you worried about net neutrality and the future of the web? Why or why not?

August 12, 2010
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