Your Bluebird Cafe Discovery

By Doyne Phillips, Managing Editor for Southern Writers Magazine

Malcolm Gladwell has written several books one of my favorites is TheTipping Point. It was about the small changes that brought people, products or government to a point of success or change. A recent trip to Nashville and The Bluebird Café reminded me of a tipping point.

The Bluebird cafe is small 90 seat music club which will usually have 4 composers or singer/songwriters present their talents. It is a great way to see new or established talent and experience a step along the way in the music business. I was fortunate to be able to attend a benefit there for the Nashville Chapter of the Recording Academy. In the middle of the show   one of the artists which was experiencing her first performance at the Bluebird stopped, pointed to a spot at a table in the back and said, “Garth Brooks was seated right back there when he heard The Dance for the first time. The Dance was written by Tony Arata and Brooks recorded it as the 10^th and final song on his self-titled debut album. It remained at number 1 for 3 weeks. Quite a success story for both the writer and the singer. Why was this noted in the middle of her performance?

This young hopeful was saying this was possibly one of the steps, changes she must go through if she is to achieve success. It has happened for others this way. It could happen again. But she must experience this. This is also true for authors and I want to share two of my favorite examples.

·        Andy Andrew’s book The Butterfly Effect was shared with Good Morning America host Robin Roberts. Roberts showcased it on “Must-Reads”. Not long afterwards it was a #1 Bestseller.

·       Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen were brilliant motivational speakers and great marketing men. Their new book Chicken Soup for the Soul had sold many copies. They wanted more. They had given away thousands of copies but they needed to get it into the hands of what they called “big mouths”. Big mouths are celebrities with access to the media. They sent books to the O. J. Simpson jury. The jury was sequestered so this was one thing they could have. The jury were seen arriving each day with the book under their arm. The media asked about it and they received national attention.

“Three simple rules in life:  If you do not go after what you want, you'll never have it.  If you do not ask, the answer will always be no.  If you do not step forward, you'll always be in the same place.”  

----Nora Roberts

You never know when, where or how the right person will discover your work but if you know of things others have done you too can use that to get it out there in front of people. Not everyone that performs at The Bluebird Café becomes a “success”. But your odds are much greater if you do. It is a step, or one of the changes that must occur to increase your odds. 

Discover what others have done and put it into motion. Southern Writers Magazine with its input from authors is a great place to start learning.     

     

Genre Jumping: To Switch or Not to Switch

By Marilyn Baron

Ignoring conventional wisdom, I do not stick to one genre when I write. I’ve written historical fiction, romantic thrillers/suspense, paranormal and women’s fiction of all lengths and formats, both traditionally published and self-published. I’ve even written a musical. With the advent of self-publishing, writers are taking control of their careers and now have more choices. Although I write in a variety of genres, I still have a brand. All of my books and short stories have the elements of romance and humor and often, mystery and suspense. Some writers experiment with a variety of genres until they find their voice. Mine is probably humorous women’s fiction.

I’ve even started a series. Book Two of the Psychic Crystal Mystery series, Homecoming Homicides, was released exclusively on Amazon, January 27 and the worldwide release is scheduled for May 9.

Agents traditionally advise their clients to stick a single genre to build a reader base and strengthen their reader brand. When writers want to deviate from their established category, they are either discouraged or told to write under a pseudonym if they want to tackle a different genre. That advice has worked for many successful authors. Some of my favorites are Nora Roberts, who also writes as J.D. Robb for her “In Death” series and Jayne Ann Krentz, who also writes as Amanda Quick and Jayne Castle.  Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series is wildly popular but she also collaborates with another author writing in a different genre. It could be that these authors are the exception because they are so well-known they can afford to break the rules.

I heard about one author who had a highly acclaimed first novel and wanted to experiment and publish a non-fiction book he’d written. He was discouraged by his agent and encouraged to continue writing in the same vein as the first book, following the adage, “If it ain’t broke; don’t fix it.” That advice in guiding an author’s career may not be wrong. That’s just the thing. Today, there is no right and wrong. So take a chance, don’t limit yourself, branch out to other genres if you’re so inclined.

Best Advice

Whatever genre you write, the best advice I’ve ever received from top authors is some variation of, “Finish the Book!” And on a recent online chat, Rhonda Penders, president, The Wild Rose Press, Inc., said, “The best thing you can do to market your book is to write the next one.”  I couldn’t agree more.

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Marilyn is a public relations consultant in Atlanta. She’s a member of Romance Writers of America and Georgia Romance Writers (GRW) and the recipient of the GRW 2009 Chapter Service Award. She writes humorous women’s fiction, romantic thrillers/suspense, historicals and paranormal. She has won writing awards in Single Title, Suspense Romance and Paranormal/Fantasy Romance. Marilyn blogs with the Petit Fours and Hot Tamales at http://www.petitfoursandhottamales.com/. You can find out more about Marilyn’s books and short stories on her Web site at www.marilynbaron.com Twitter https://twitter.com/MarilynBaron Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marilyn-Baron/286807714666748?fref=ts   Linked-In http://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=nav_responsive_tab_home