Tag: The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina by Janet Morrison

5 things I learned about Social Media this weekend

If you follow my blog, bless you! If you follow my blog, you know that, among other things, I share my rocky journey into the world of social media. If you’re in the same boat, I hope you have found some information in my blog that was new and helpful to you.

Today’s post deviates from my plan to share a piece of my history writing. On Friday, I plan to post an article I wrote in 2007 about an 1897 head-on collision between two trains in Harrisburg, NC. Today I share my thoughts about five areas of social media that have come to my attention over the weekend.

Contact form on my blog

I was so proud on Friday that I’d figured out how to insert a comment form within the body of my blog. So far, that form has been a total flop. No one used it. If it was used, it didn’t work. I won’t try that again unless or until I learn how to benefit from it.

Quora

I mentioned Quora.com in my blog post on January 27, 2017, 3 Things to Try on Social Media in January , http://wp.me/pL80d-tt) and I’ve played around some with it some. Over the weekend, I found a 6-minute February 10, 2017 podcast offered for free on http://mschool.growtheverywhere.libsynpro.com/how-to-attract-9000-visitors-a-month-from-quora-ep-194 that/which gave several suggestions for those of us who are still trying to figure out how to best utilize Quora – or, more specifically, trying to determine if it is even a good tool for us or not. My problem is that I’m far removed from my college studies of political science to address most of the questions that come up in that area and I don’t feel qualified to answer questions about writing until I’ve gotten my first novel published. Bottom line:  I’m leaving my options open with Quora as I continue to find my niche.

Pinterest

On Saturday afternoon I finally got serious about trying to figure out where historical fiction fans hang out on social media. Finding https://www.statista.com/statistics/246183/share-of-us-internet-users-who-use-pinterest-by-age-group/ was helpful in a round-a-bout way since it presents the statistics for Pinterest users in 2016. Here’s the age breakdown:

36% 18-29 years old

34% 30-49 years old

28% 50-64 years old

16% 65 or older

I can’t afford full access to statista.com, but this bit of free information was helpful. These stats are not specific to fans of historical fiction, but I enjoy using Pinterest and it is beneficial to know what age people use it the most. It’s a piece of the puzzle.

I learned from Pinterest Analytics that I average having 13,440 views per month, but only 174 of them were engaged in my content. My most popular pin in the last 30 days was Chimney Tops Hike in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In fact, three of my most popular pins were from my Great Smoky Mountains board. I originally set up that board (and the Blue Ridge Mountains board) to help draw attention to my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. If this book sounds interesting to you, you can purchase in paperback or for Kindle on amazon.com.

I read another WordPress.com blogger’s post pertaining to historical fiction writers. https://kmguerin.wordpress.com/2016/07/18/social-media-for-historical-fiction-writers-part-4-facebook/https://kmguerin.wordpress.com/2016/07/18/social-media-for-historical-fiction-writers-part-4-facebook/ gave a good suggestion:  Find a trending topic or article related to the time period you are writing about and post it. I have a board on Pinterest, “Novel in Progress:  The Spanish Coin,” in which I pin photos and information pertinent to 1771 in the Waxhaws area in present-day Lancaster County, SC, as well as the Rocky River Presbyterian Church community in present-day Cabarrus County, NC (part of Mecklenburg County in 1771), and Salisbury, NC. These are the three geographic locations in my novel. I have 69 pins and 24 followers on that board as of February 20, 2017. I need to attract more people to that Pinterest board. I invite you to visit me on Pinterest by clicking on the Pinterest icon in my blog’s sidebar. Pin this blog post to one of your Pinterest boards by clicking on the Pinterest icon below.

Reading Medieval historical fiction author K.M. Guerin’s July 18, 2016 Time-Worn Pages blog post, https://kmguerin.wordpress.com/2016/07/18/social-media-for-historical-fiction-writers-part-4-facebook/http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-get-more-pinterest-followers/ tipped me off to the fact that I was giving my blog readers a way to pin my posts to their Pinterest boards or share a link to my blog posts to their Facebook pages, but I did not provide a way for them to connect with me on social media. The proverbial lightbulb finally came on, folks!  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:  I am not technologically savvy. What I’ve learned, I’ve had to dig up myself. I suppose that’s the best way to learn something new, but it surely is tedious. I read the above link to socialmediaexaminer.com on February 18, 2017 and worked until I figured out how to add “Follow me on Social Media” buttons in my blog’s sidebar. You wouldn’t believe what a sense of accomplishment that gave me!

LinkedIn and Instagram

I also picked up some ideas from reading a February 29, 2016 blog post by Jessica Lawlor on The Write Site. (https://thewritelife.com/quick-social-media-tips-for-writers-part-2) You can follow Jessica Lawlor on Twitter @jesslaw.) My takeaways:  (1) Republish some of my blog posts on LinkedIn; and (2) Instagram is a platform where I can build my brand and community, and I should refer to the link to my website or blog as found in my profile (i.e., using the words “Link in profile” somewhere in my post) because LinkedIn only allows accounts to display one link. I haven’t given up on LinkedIn, and I haven’t tried Instagram.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read. If you’re a writer, I hope you have productive writing time.

Janet

What is an Author’s Brand… and How Do I Get One?

Today’s blog post is for writers who are in the same boat with me. I’ve been working on a novel for years. I hope to get it published in the next several years. I am trying to learn all I can about the craft of writing as well as the craft of being an author. In the 21st century It’s not enough to write a 100,000-word piece of earth-shaking fiction. An author has to have a brand and build a platform.

To tell you how far I’ve come in the last week, a few days ago I didn’t know the difference between brand and platform. I have a hunch I’m not alone in my confusion. I do not claim to be an authority on this subject. In fact, I’m far from it. Today’s post grew out of my need to try to figure out author brand and author platform.

 

What is an author’s brand?

After searching online for explanations of an author’s brand, I have concluded that my brand as an author is who I am, what I choose to share about myself, and what I want readers to think when they see or hear my name.

 

What is an author’s platform?

The best I can tell, an author’s platform is his or her visibility and ability to sell books.

 

How do brand and platform mesh?

An author’s brand underpins his or her platform. It’s part of the foundation. Brand, therefore, must precede the building of a platform.

 

When should I design my brand as an author?

Today, or perhaps yesterday.

 

How do I establish my brand as an author?

  • Set goals and objectives
  • Identify what readers of your genre are looking for
  • Determine how you are different from other writers in your genre
  • Feel comfortable in your own skin as a writer
  • Don’t be shy about telling your own story
  • Find your niche and focus on it
  • Take care to manage how you are perceived
  • Explore ways you can turn readers of your genre into fans of your work

 

How am I perceived?

How potential readers perceive you is created by a variety of ways. Everything from website, logo, social media presence, business cards, any printed materials, to your photo affect how you are perceived. In other words, be consistent in how you project yourself.

 

How can you learn from my mistakes?

Unfortunately, when I had my website set up, it was primarily to showcase the three family genealogies compiled in the 1990s by my sister and me. I knew I wanted to be a novelist, but at that time I really knew next to nothing about writing fiction.

I set up a Facebook account on June 14, 2011 in order to keep up with community events and news. Much later (August 12, 2014) I added a Janet Morrison, Writer Facebook page as a way to publicize my public appearances to promote my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

In 2010, I started half-heartedly writing a blog. I struggled with content and how often to post. It wasn’t until 2014 and the publishing of my vintage postcard book that I got serious about blogging.

Kicking and screaming, I created a Twitter account on April 11, 2016.

I did all these things in piecemeal fashion as I struggled to learn what an aspiring novelist should do in order to get noticed. The operative word is “piecemeal.” There’s nothing wrong with taking a gradual approach, but my mistake was that I did not have an overall plan and, therefore, I was not systematic. I was focusing on the individual trees instead of the entire forest. I did not understand author brand as it relates to author platform. In conclusion, I tried to build my platform without supporting it with a brand. I got the cart before the horse.

 

Where do I go from here?

With my website, blog, and Twitter account already in place, I have no choice but to keep forging ahead. Otherwise, I will lose my momentum and many of the followers I have. (I experienced that this summer while I had shingles in my eye.)

While I forge ahead, though, I know now that I need to design my brand. I have written the manuscript of a historical mystery. Although Arcadia Publishing reminded me during the editing process that my postcard book was not intended to be a history book, I believe it did help people to perceive me as a writer and historian.

My plan for the coming weeks is to hire a professional editor to evaluate my historical mystery manuscript (working title is The Spanish Coin) and to take the steps necessary to design my brand.

I don’t expect this to be easy. Nothing worthwhile is easy. Researching and stating facts and theories about author branding is one thing. Putting that knowledge into practice is altogether something else.

 

Some of the resources I used in writing this post are:

I would be remiss if I did not disclose and provide links to the online sources I used this week in writing this blog post.

 

A call to action

If you find this blog post helpful or if you wish to contradict or correct any of my statements, please leave a comment and give JanetsWritingBlog.com exposure by clicking on the social media icons below.

Until my next blog post, I hope you have a good book to read and, If you’re a writer, I hope you have quality writing time.

Janet

Mark de Castrique’s Mystery Writing Workshop – Part 1

Mark de Castrique conducted a mystery writing workshop at Lanier Library in Tryon, North Carolina on Saturday afternoon. Having heard this author speak twice in the last several years, I knew I would benefit from attending his workshop.

Tryon, NC

Nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Tryon is an inviting place to visit on a beautiful early fall day. There were lots of people out and about in the quaint downtown business district. Tryon is dog friendly. Some of the shops provide water bowls on the sidewalks to quench the thirst of local dogs on their daily walks.

The Book Shelf Bookstore

An added highlight on Saturday was visiting the new location of Penny Padgett’s The Book Shelf Bookstore in Tryon. The shop recently moved just a few feet down South Trade Street from its former location. I was delighted to reconnect with Penny. She graciously had a book signing for me (see “Book Signing at The Book Shelf in Tryon, NC” on my blog on April 14, 2015) to publicize my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. The new shop gives Penny more space for books and book signings. Visiting her shop also gave me a chance to purchase Mark de Castrique’s latest and sixteenth novel, The Singularity Race.

Aristotle

In the three-hour workshop, Mr. de Castrique covered Aristotle’s six components of a story:

  1. Plot
  2. Character
  3. Thought
  4. Language
  5. Melody and
  6. Spectacle.

He talked about sequence in plotting — how it has cummulative power. “A” must come before “B” which must come before “C.” He said the worst plotting for a novel is episodic, meaning the sequence of events can be in random order. (Think episodes of the old TV show, “Gilligan’s Island.” One episode did not build on the previous one.) That works for a TV program but not in a mystery novel.

What if?

Mr. de Castrique talked about the value of a writer asking, “What if?” to get his or her creative juices going. Other topics included write what you know and write from a sense of place.

Illusion of Authenticity

Mr. de Castrique talked about the different methods of research:

  1. Memory
  2. Imagination, and
  3. Fact

and how a novel needs the illusion of authenticity. If you’re writing something that cannot happen, you need to set it up so that it can possibly happen. It has to be believable.

Reader Response Theory

Mr. de Castrique talked about reader response theory, which was a new concept for me. It addresses the following:

  1. Real author
  2. Implied author
  3. Narrator
  4. Characters
  5. Narratee
  6. Authorial audience, and
  7. The reader

In my next blog post on Friday, I will write about the rest of the workshop, including descriptions of the two writing exercises we did. Until then, I hope you have a good book to read and, if you’re a writer, I hope you have productive writing time.

Janet

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

Writing The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina was educational for me and I hope it is for its readers. Today my blog post is a list of 10 things I learned about The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians as I did the research for that vintage postcard book.

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My book on the shelf at Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar in Asheville, NC.
  1. The legal name for the Cherokee people in North Carolina is The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
  2. Because “Native American” can refer to anyone born in America, The North American Indian Women’s Association recommends using the term American Indians.
  3. The Great Smoky Mountains lay in the middle of the Cherokee Indians’ territory in the mid-1600s when Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto arrived.
  4. In the 1820s, a Cherokee by the name of Sequoyah invented the Cherokee syllabary, making the Cherokee one of the first American Indian tribes to have a written language.
  5. Cherokee women have always had much power within the tribe, owning property, and administering justice.
  6. Descendants of the Cherokee Indians who hid out in the mountains to avoid the 1838 forced march to Oklahoma known as the Trail of Tears lived on a land trust called the Qualla Boundary.
  7. The land the US government gives to an American Indian tribe is a reservation. The Cherokee do not live on a reservation. The Qualla Boundary is 57,000 acres of land purchased by the Cherokee Indians in the 1800s and held in trust by the US government.
  8. A papoose is a type of bag or apparatus for carrying a child. It is offensive to the Cherokee for others to call one of their infants a papoose.
  9. The Cherokee Indians never lived in tipis. They have always lived in houses.
  10. Cherokee Indians have played a ball game called ani-tsagi or anetso for hundreds of years.

Want to know more? Look for my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina in your local bookstore or online. It was published by Arcadia Publishing in 2014.

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You can help me get the word out about Janet’s Writing Blog by telling your friends about it and by sharing it on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. According to WordPress, my blog has been seen by people in 10 countries!

Until my next blog post, I hope you have a good book to read. If you are a writer, I hope you have productive and rewarding writing time.

Janet

10 Things I Learned about the Blue Ridge Mountains

In the course of researching and writing my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, the following are 10 key things I learned:

1. Construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway began in 1935.

2. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps did much of the landscaping and construction cleanup along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

3. The Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina are divided into a number of sub-ranges including the Black Mountains, the Great Balsams, and the Plott Balsams.

4. The area in the southwestern corner of North Carolina is known as the Snowbird Mountains.

5. The Nantahala National Forest covers 500,000 acres.

6. The Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness contains 13,000 acres in the Snowbirds area.

7. More than 100 species of trees are found in the old-growth forest in Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness.

8. Construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway was completed in 1967 except for the “missing link” on Grandfather Mountain.

9. The Linn Cove Viaduct — a quarter-mile long engineering marvel that hugs Grandfather Mountain — completed the Blue Ridge Parkway in 1987.

10. Linville Gorge Wilderness covers nearly 12,000 acres in Burke County, North Carolina.

Want to learn more? Look for my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. It can be purchased from Amazon.com or perhaps at your local bookstore.

Should I Self-Publish My Novel?

I have always wanted my historical novel, The Spanish Coin, to be published by a publishing house. That desire was based on my thinking that would be a stamp of approval for my writing skills. Being published by a publishing house would validate me as an author.

My thoughts have changed recently. The publishing business is changing so fast that self-publishing is becoming more acceptable. I’m not getting any younger, the road to securing the services of a literary agent and eventually (maybe) getting my manuscript picked up by a publisher, and something like 18 months later seeing the book in print make me rethink things.

My main reason for writing is not to make money; however, reaching the point where my income from writing escalates from the Internal Revenue Service categorizing it as a “hobby” to recognizing it as my profession would be rewarding. The royalties earned by self-publishing appear to far exceed those paid by publishing houses.

I write because I’m compelled to do so. As a child, I kept diaries. Diaries in the early 1960s only provided a space approximately one inch by three inches for each day’s comments. I quickly outgrew that format and took to using notebook paper. That way I could write as much as I wanted to each day. I kept such a journal during middle and high school, some during college, and sporadically throughout my adult life. It always surprises me when I hear someone say they don’t like to write. I can’t imagine!

The fact that the self-published author has to do his own marketing is often labeled a detriment when writers list the pros and cons of that route, but the other side of the coin is that the author has full control over getting the word out about his book. Although my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, was published by a history book publisher, most of the marketing of the book fell on my shoulders.

The more I read about self-publishing, the more I think it just might be the way for me to go. Before I make that decision, though, I must do some research to determine how readers of historical fiction prefer their books. Do they prefer e-books or traditional books? If they prefer e-books, I must research all my self-publishing options — which already seems like comparing apples to oranges — so I can make an educated decision.

Like so many facets of the business of writing, sorting through all the options of publishing can feel overwhelming. For now, I need to concentrate on finishing The Spanish Coin and getting it professionally edited.

I plan to blog about my progress on my novel the end of every month.

Janet

 

Update on sorting out social media

It’s been an interesting four days since my last blog post. Today’s post is (as the title suggestions) an update on my adventures in sorting out social media. I’m a writer, not an IT person.

Facebook

For those of you who follow me on Facebook, you already know I’ve made no progress there. I’m finding it a challenge to share articles I find online on my Janet Morrison, Writer Facebook page. It is secondary to my personal page. Sometimes I’m given the option of sharing on either page, but usually my only choice is to share on my personal page. Also, when I try to install a Facebook button on my blog, it takes you to my personal page. I don’t want to merge my two pages, but that might be my only option.

Pinterest

I’ve made a point to pin to several of my Pinterest boards every day. Instead of being satisfied to just pin quotes about writing to my “The Writing Life” board, I’m making a concerted effort to find more substantive and helpful articles about the craft of writing. Since April 4 my Pinterest followers have increased from 32 to 40. That’s not a huge number, but it’s 25% — which sounds better. I wrote a nonfiction vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina in 2014. I hope my “Blue Ridge Mountains” and “Great Smoky Mountains” boards will result in some book sales. I invite you to follow me or my boards you find of interest at http://www.pinterest.com/janet5049.

I’ve had a Twitter account for longer than I care to remember, but I’ve hesitated to use it. There! I’ve said it! I have retweeted 14 tweets and sent five original tweets all in the last eight days. I’m still a little in the dark about hashtags. I’m following 51 people and 14 are following me. I’m resisting the temptation to check out Twitter for Dummies from the library after my less than stellar experience with I-Phones for Dummies.

Blogger Networking

One encouraging thing that has resulted from my plunging deeper into social media this week is that I was contacted by a fellow blogger who is also writing a book and dealing with some of the same social media issues I’m struggling with. #MyNameIsJamie @Sonni_quick gave me some wisdom from her experience and we commiserated about our mutual shortcomings when it comes to building our platforms online. It was reassuring to find out I’m not the only person feeling my way through the maze of social media of tweets, Facebook, blogs, etc.; however, Sonni is ahead of me on the learning curve.

Summary

It felt good to make some progress this week after a couple of nonproductive months, I have also found encouragement and inspiration in the poetry, prose, and articles shared by the bloggers I follow.

My Next Blog

In my next blog on April 18, I plan to write about the writer’s notebook I keep. See you then!

Janet Morrison

A Change in Course

As of yesterday afternoon, I’m making a change in course. I mentioned in my last blog post that I had submitted a nonfiction book proposal to a publisher. It was a long shot — which I knew going in. The editor notified me yesterday that my proposed project was not a good fit for the company. Again, I knew that going in but figured I had nothing to lose by trying.

If the publisher had wanted to pursue my book proposal, that is what I would have devoted my time to over the next months or year. I will continue to write, but I plan to turn my attention back to my historical novel manuscript. There are some sewing and quilting projects calling my name, too, so I look forward to writing and sewing as winter approaches.

I share the positives as well as the negatives that I experience in my journey as a writer. Perhaps someone else who is struggling to get published will read one of my posts and find encouragement. At the least, he or she will discover that they are not alone.

It is a thrill to see one’s name on the cover of a book as the author. I was the co-compiler of three genealogy books, and Arcadia Publishing published my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, in 2014. I hope to someday see my name on the spine of a novel published by a book publisher, but I know it won’t be easy.

One blog that I follow is Random Jottings by Richard L. Mabry, MD. He is a physician and a writer. I copied the following from one of his recent posts and have it taped to the bottom of my computer screen so I can read it every day: “Remember, it’s all a matter of timing — not yours, but God’s. And, as I’ve said before, if no one but you ever reads the words you’re putting on the page, you’ve at least reached one person. And maybe that’s the plan.” — Richard L. Mabry, MD.

Some things you just have to do for your own enjoyment and edification.

On the Same Page Literary Festival

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I attended the On the Same Page Literary Festival in West Jefferson, North Carolina last Friday. In my last post I blogged about getting to hear author Angela Davis-Gardner speak.

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When I visit a town to participate in an event to sell or publicize my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, I try to patronize the local businesses. I always look for a locally-owned and -operated restaurant. On Friday I enjoyed lunch at the historic Tavern Hotel Restaurant in West Jefferson. The former hotel is pictured above.

Ashe Co. Book Fair 001

Later that afternoon I participated in the festival’s book fair. A dozen authors and Natalie Foreman, Associate Editor with McFarland and Company, Inc., Publishers, took part in the fair. I got to speak briefly with Ms. Foreman about an idea I have for a nonfiction book. More on that later, if it materializes. I had copies of my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, available for  sale.

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I shared a table at the fair with author Maryrose Carroll. We had interesting conversation about writing, the benefits of being in a local writers group, self-publishing, and politics. Ms. Carroll was selling and signing her book, Beats Me: Love, Poetry, Censorship from Chicago to Appalachia. That’s Maryrose Carroll and me chatting at our table in the photo below.

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I sent a query letter to a publishing house today. I’ll keep you posted.

An Excellent Historical Novel

I just finished reading an excellent historical novel. Cataloochee was Wayne Caldwell’s debut novel, and what an entertaining story it is! I read now as an aspiring novelist. Historical fiction is my first love, so I constantly try to identify and learn from what published authors do well. Reading Cataloochee on the heels of the 2014 publication of my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, made the story all the more vivid for me.

I like the way Mr. Caldwell follows families through several generations. In fact, that is what I am working toward in my own writing. Mr. Caldwell’s descriptive writing put me in the setting. I can see the plants he refers to and I can smell the flowers and other scents he mentions. His careful use of colloquialisms is a model I hope to emulate in my debut novel that has the working title, The Spanish Coin.

Cataloochee is historical fiction at its best, and I look forward to reading Mr. Caldwell’s second novel, Requiem by Fire. It carries forward some of the Cataloochee families as Great Smoky Mountains National Park becomes a reality and changes their lives forever.

Being from North Carolina, I am familiar with many of the places mentioned in Cataloochee. One of my late uncles lived on Hemphill Road in the Jonathan Creek community, and another late uncle was a Methodist preacher at Cataloochee in 1928. Oh how I wish I had asked Uncle Grady and Aunt Clara questions about their time there! Aunt Clara wrote a book, Lingering Echoes of the Blue Ridge: A Charge to Keep about some of her and Uncle Grady’s experiences in his various pastorates in western North Carolina.

Reading Cataloochee prompted me to reread Aunt Clara’s book. She and Wayne Caldwell are good storytellers and their books paint a picture of life in the Appalachian Mountains. On my next trip to the Great Smoky Mountains, I hope to visit Cataloochee. According to Aunt Clara’s book, the church where Uncle Grady preached was still there a few years ago. Since it is on national park land, I trust it is still being cared for and protected.

It was not until I was two-thirds of the way through Cataloochee that I thought about Aunt Clara’s book. Making this family connection with the places in Cataloochee was serendipitous. I can’t stop smiling!