Lynn Raye Harris

I discovered Twitter recently. It’s a site where you write these short little blurbs about what you’re doing. And you follow other people doing the same. They follow you. You communicate. It’s cool because you aren’t necessarily communicating directly with anyone. I am, of course, following other writers, some publishers, a few reviewers. Some people are more prolific than others, that’s for sure.

eHarlequin uses Twitter to update what’s going on — I like this because I know when there’s a blog I need to read. They also announced my Call on Twitter, and my guest blogs. Totally cool.

The posts are short, no more than 140 characters, and easy to do in the course of your day. A post is called a “tweet.” The setup is easy, and it’s easy to get going. Finding people is more difficult, or was for me anyway, because I refused to let Twitter access my email for addresses. Still, I’ve managed to find plenty of people, and they’ve found me.

If you decide to give Twitter a try, look for me. My user name is LynnRayeHarris. Follow me, and I’ll follow you. So far, it’s interesting. I don’t spend much time at it; I think the nature of the short tweets helps keep it manageable.

Do you use Twitter? Do you think all these networking sites are a waste of time? Did I mention you can send Tweets using your phone? And that an American graduate student Twittered his way out of a Middle Eastern jail this past spring? What’s next, hmm?

Congratulations again to Tami Brothers! She won the $25 Gift Card and will soon be shopping for books! Stay tuned for other giveaways in the future…..

Hey, I’m celebrating my two-book sale with my friends over at The Writing Playground today! Come on over and say hello!

I’m also having my first official contest!!

Sign up for my newsletter and I’ll enter you in a drawing for a $25 Barnes & Noble Gift Card.

By signing up, you agree that you will receive emails from me on occasion. I promise not to share your address with anyone.

I’ll draw for a winner on Tuesday, October 28th. I’ll announce it on the blog and send you an email. You will have 48 hours to get in touch with me and give me your snail mail addy before I redraw.

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Sign up and then come on over and party!

Things I’ve done recently:

1. Redesigned the website again. It was no longer an accurate reflection of all I’m writing. It is now more generic, though I warn you it will likely change again as I contemplate hiring a designer.

2. Started a Newsletter. You can sign up for it here:

Click to join lynnrayeharrisnews

Or scroll down and look for it on the sidebar (or at the newly revamped website…).

3. Did anyone else watch the premiere of Life last night? I loooove that show! So happy to see it come back on again. I was ticked that they canceled Moonlight, but at least they kept Life — and Pushing Daisies. That’s on tomorrow night.

Any shows you’re looking forward to? Any website redesigns? Anything?

I was in the grocery store when someone said to me, “You were in the paper, weren’t you?”

And I said, “Yes, I was.”

She said, “I thought I recognized you.”

OMG! It’s so weird! And cool. I thanked her for reading it, LOL!

I think I’m going to make the switch to WordPress, but don’t worry, I’ll be sure to point this blog to the new one. It’s been surprisingly easy to play with creating a new blog, and importing this one into it. If all goes well, I hope to introduce the new site next week. And, big news, but it will take the place of my current website. As much as I love my website, it doesn’t reflect what’s going on in my writing accurately anymore. The dark colors and hot military guy are crowding out the tycoons and exotic locations.

So, playing around, but I think the switch will happen.

In other news, had a fabulous interview in the Decatur Daily today. Except I can’t give you a link because they only allow subscribers to read the articles. I think that’s a mistake, one that the New York Times finally admitted when they returned their site to an all free one, but this is a local paper and they have their own ideas.

What’s going on in your neck of the woods? I’m trying to create a new site, keeping up with the press lately, and working on my novel. It’s been a busy August…..

I’m thinking of switching this blog to WordPress and using my domain name instead of the blogspot name. Because with WP, you can have a multi-page site, unlike with Blogger.

OTOH, I hate change when I’m comfy with something. And I’m comfy with Blogger. If you’re reading, you probably blog. Which platform do you use? Have you switched from one to the other? Which do you like best and why?

I’m not sure when I’ll get around to this, or if I even will. I kind of hate the idea of moving everything and then not liking it. And I don’t like learning curves. I don’t have time for them, you know?

So what do you think of blogs as promotional tools ultimately? Recently, I read that the Fog City Divas are going to stop blogging. The authors are too busy writing to keep up with it. I always thought being a part of a group blog would be easier than what I do here, which is post erratically and on wildly different subjects (whatever is floating my boat, in fact). I periodically ask this question because I’m constantly wondering about it. Is the search for something new to say worth the trouble every day? Can you get just as much mileage from visiting blogs and leaving comments?

I wonder. If you dropped by to read my interview yesterday, thank you! I hope to have another interview link to post soon.

Please join me over at Romance Writers on the Journey and learn about my writing journey thus far! I’ll be answering questions, and my gracious hostess Keli Gwyn has prizes to give away. Give me a shout out!

I’ve been thinking about branding and promo lately. Probably because of the RWA National conference. Writers are urged to get a brand, to associate something about the types of stories they write with their name. Start the association early and get the idea planted in the minds of your fellow writers at least. Once you sell, the brand is there, ready to branch out for readers.

I don’t disagree with this. And yet, my brand is undergoing an evolution and I’m uncertain how to proceed. I branded myself as a military romantic suspense writer. I still hope to do this.

But now I have international tycoons to add into the mix. And I love them. Oh, I am so happy writing and rewriting my story for Presents right now! I realize how much I fit there, how much I love those stories — even if it’s taking me a bit of work to get into the proper groove with my own story.

But how to combine these two things? Many writers start out with one kind of story, one place where they know they fit. Some write a bit of everything. In that case, I think brand is contained in tone and voice. It’s about sexy or flirty or dangerous or whatever the underlying core of a writer’s voice is rather than a specific genre like suspense or paranormal.

I realized in San Francisco that my own brand of suspense is dangerous and sexy, not gritty or dark or terrifying. And, in many ways, this describes my heroes — whether they are military warriors or wealthy tycoons. I love dangerous and sexy men.

In my stories, not in real life. Thankfully the hubby’s most dangerous habit is abandoning me to play on the computer when I’d prefer he help me unload the dishwasher. This is dangerous to my temper and his well-being, but that’s about it.

But dangerous conjures up danger, so maybe it doesn’t work for tycoons. Which brings me back to my dilemma. How to brand myself with something generic enough to work for more than one subgenre without being so generic it’s forgettable. Or should I even worry about this? I haven’t sold anything yet after all.

What are some of your favorite author brands? Is there any tagline that stands out to you? Do you have a brand?

more cat pictures

So I’m working on revisions again. *sigh* Thank GOD for the Presents and Modern Heat authors at conference who told me this is normal and not to feel like a big dummy! The encouragement I found in those ladies has really made a difference in my confidence this time around.

But that’s not the diversion. The diversion is my very first newspaper interview. Today, a reporter and photographer came to my house. I was terrified — until I met them. The interview took two hours, and we laughed and talked and had a good time. I have every confidence this interview will put a positive face on romance writing. I don’t know when it will be available but as soon as it is, I will post the link.

It’s interesting to talk about novel writing with people who don’t write novels. And yet, the reporter is a writer because she’s a journalist. A different type of writing, but still writing. So we were able to understand one another very well. For instance, we both cringe when someone reads our work while we’re in the same room. Don’t know why, but I’d rather be in another room if you want to read my story. I guess I don’t want to see puzzlement on your face. Or worse, disappointment. She felt the same way about her stories. I found that comforting.

The photographer had a trunk full of equipment he brought inside and set up, complete with this huge umbrella thing that helped with lighting. I felt like a movie star! Thankfully, I’d changed out of the writer’s uniform of pajamas and into something more attractive. I even took a shower and put on makeup. Definitely not the way I usually write. In fact, she asked me what my routine was. Here it is: wake up around 6:30, kiss husband goodbye around 7:15, pour coffee, go to office and write. In pajamas. With hair scraped back in a bun. Shower around 2 or so — sooner if stuck in a scene. I always shower so the hubby doesn’t think I sat around all day in my pajamas — even though I do. I figure if the man goes to work and lets me stay home and indulge myself this way, the least I can do is appear presentable when he gets home.

Unless I’m on deadline and then all bets are off.

If you’ve ever been interviewed, how did it go? Were you scared? Did you think of something later that you should have said? So far, I haven’t, but who knows how I’ll feel tomorrow.

Video book trailers are the hot thing now, it seems. Everyone is doing one. Some are great (no, I have no examples because I really, really pay very little attention to them) and some are downright corny (no examples because my mama said if you can’t say anything nice, etc). Apparently, according to the Wall Street Journal, it’s turning into quite the cottage industry:

Circle of Seven Productions, a Brentwood, Calif.-based production company specializing in book trailers, had more than 100 clients last year, up from about a dozen in 2005. TurnHere, a two-year-old Emeryville, Calif.-based production company, has deals with Simon & Schuster, Penguin Group, Hachette and Chronicle Books. And HarperCollins has cut out the middleman; the publisher just built a book-trailer studio in its offices and says it hopes to churn out 500 author videos this year.

The article also says that book trailers can cost a lot of money to produce. Obviously, this puts them out of reach of the average author, which is why the homemade ones crop up a lot. Nothing wrong with homemade and, again, some of them are pretty good.

But do they work?

There is scant evidence, however, that the average book trailer actually has much impact on book sales. Despite Doubleday’s recent video upload for the self-help book “We Plan, God Laughs,” by Sherre Hirsch, the book has sold only about 3,000 copies, according to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks about 70% of U.S. book sales. And even though Jami Attenberg’s trailer for her novel “The Kept Man” is reminiscent of Miranda July’s short films, only 3,000 copies of Ms. Attenberg’s recent book have sold. Most trailers cost about $2,000 to produce.

I think romance writers have embraced the idea of trailers and many work hard to make them. But what do I do when I click over to a site that has a trailer? I skip it. Unless you’re a friend, or you’ve specifically asked me to look at it, I skip. Why?

Dunno, guess I’m in a hurry. And that, to me, is the crux of the trailer issue. If you want to do a trailer, make it short, sweet, and to the point. Just my opinion, of course!

What do you think about trailers? Like them, hate them, want to do one? What are your criteria for good trailers? What makes you watch or not?

**The WSJ article is here.

**Wow, here’s a site where you can go watch book trailers! In the interest of research, I watched. Okay, there are some good ones here. Hmm…