HOW TO SELL A PIE: Three Ideas for Bringing the Pies, Books & Jesus Book Club to Readers

By Kathleen Y’Barbo

When I learned that FIREFLY SUMMER, my Southern tale of a small town book club called the Pies, Books & Jesus Book Club, would finally be published, I was beyond thrilled. You see, for almost ten years, this was one of those books of the heart that just wouldn’t let me go. From the small town setting, so like the little Texas town where I grew up, to the characters who populated the story—including one who is aptly named after my mother—FIREFLY SUMMER is, in a word, special.

Finding a way to get the word out about this book and the Pies, Books & Jesus Book Club series meant putting on my Southern thinking cap, or rather my straw hat, and coming up with a plan. Social media has been a great place to spread the word, but there are so many more places to talk about Southern fiction than just on Facebook and Twitter. I decided to go for a three-pronged approach that includes reader engagement, special promotions, and a giving back to the readers.

First, reader engagement: What better way to introduce readers to the Pies, Books & Jesus Book Club than by creating an actual book club? I’ve got a page set up on Facebook where readers can gather and discuss the same books the characters in the series are reading. The page is still a work in progress and will grow as the series grows, but you can check it out here: http://on.fb.me/1R87tWq.

Though using special promotions is nothing new in the writing world, offering a series that is interactive—that is letting the readers choose which characters will get the next story—is. Readers who follow my Facebook author page or who connect with me through the book club page will get to vote on story lines, choose covers, and maybe even name a character or two. I truly want this series to be reader centric and reader driven.

And finally, I want to give back to my readers. Any Southern lady knows if guests show up, you offer sweet tea and a slice of pie. While I wish I could actually do that, I think I’ve come up with an acceptable substitute. Readers who sign up for newsletter alerts will be getting several special surprises. I don’t want to tell too much, but there are several plans in the works to give readers inside information on the books as well as specially written short stories and character backstories that cannot be found anywhere else.

Beyond promoting FIREFLY SUMMER and the Pies, Books & Jesus Book Club series, including the upcoming novella AUTUMN SKYE (releasing October 2016 in The Boy Next Door collection) and the 2016 novel tentatively titled SPRING FLING, I want to offer an experience to my readers that will be both rewarding and entertaining. So watch my website, www.kathleenybarbo.com, and Facebook author page, www.facebook.com/kathleen.ybarbo for the details! In the meantime, thanks y’all, and happy reading!

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Bestselling author Kathleen Y’Barbo is a multiple Carol Award and RITA nominee of more than sixty novels with almost two million copies in print in the US and abroad. A tenth-generation Texan, she has been nominated for a Career Achievement Award as well a Reader’s Choice Award and is the winner of the 2014 Inspirational Romance of the Year by Romantic Times magazine. Kathleen is a paralegal, a proud military wife, and an expatriate Texan cheering on her beloved Texas Aggies from north of the Red River. Connect with her through social media at www.kathleenybarbo.com. Sadie’s Secret, a Secret Life of Will Tucker historical romantic suspense novel, is in stores nowas is Firefly Summer, the first in the contemporary Pies, Books & Jesus Book Club!

How I Reach THE END and Pressing SEND

By Kathleen Y’Barbo

As the author of 50 books, I often get asked how I manage to write all those books. My answer? One book at a time! I also get asked for my secret to how I manage to reach THE END and press SEND time after time.

Here’s how!

Know what you have. Print out the manuscript and do a complete read-through in hard copy. Aloud. Yes. Read your manuscript to yourself. I know. You’ll look like an idiot. Who cares? This is how you will know what’s there. It’s fine to take notes as you read. I encourage it, actually, but don’t stop to re-write. Just read. Safe the edits for later.

Know what you have to do. Maybe it’s as simple as finishing the book. Or as complicated. Maybe you’re finished with your novel but through the previous exercise you’ve found some things that need work. Great! That’s your next project, then. Whether you’re writing or editing, I want you to stop right now and decide exactly what needs doing. And write it down. Yes, like a goal. A real goal. Because once you’ve identified what you have to do, you must then figure out exactly how you’re going to do it.

Know how to reach your goal. You’ve read the manuscript and identified what needs to be done. Now you need to implement a concrete course of action to reach your goal. Need to finish the book. What’s your word count goal? How many words can you comfortably write in a day? Or, maybe you need to look at a weekly goal. Maybe you work better by looking at your book in chapters. The important thing is to reach a number and to look critically at the time you’ve allowed for writing. Underestimate the amount of hours in a week that you can devote to writing. That way you’ll be ahead if you do better than what you’ve projected.

Know when to stop. There are authors out there who do not know when to stop working on their completed manuscript. I am not suggesting that you turn out a substandard product, but at some point, you just have to let it go. Guess what? It’s never going to be perfect. Ask any published author if he or she wouldn’t jump at the chance to tweak their books that are already in print. And these are novels that have been through multiple edits. So, understand that you’ve done your best and let it go. Or perhaps your problem isn’t perfectionism. Maybe your real issue is fear. Fear of rejection. Or maybe fear of success. Did I hit a nerve? If so, ask yourself: what am I afraid of? What’s the opposition that’s keeping me from moving forward?

Know what to do next. Yes, next. You’re finished with the book. You’ve done the work of editing, and now you’re placing your manuscript in the hands of an editor or agent. Great! Now what? Write! That’s what you do next.

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RITA and Carol award nominee Kathleen Y’Barbo is the best-selling, award-winning author of more than fifty novels, novellas, and young adult books. She is a 2014 Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Nominee. In all, more than one million copies of her books are currently in print in the US and abroad, and her books have been translated into Dutch, German, and Spanish, to name a few. Kathleen is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America. She holds a BBA from Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School and a certification in Paralegal Studies, and is a former member of the Texas Bar Association’s Paralegal Division. A tenth-generation Texan, Kathleen Y’Barbo has four children of her own as well as seven bonus kids she gladly inherited when she married her own hero in combat boots (read about their real-life romance here!). Kathleen is proud to be a military wife, even if it did mean giving up her Texas driver’s license. Her website is www.kathleenybarbo.com her recent books are Millie's Treasure, Flora's Wish and Rocky Mountain Heiress Collection.