NEW: Reader Facebook Group

Okay, so I have a new idea for this coming year. 2016 is going to be amazing! I have a TON of stuff coming out next year, and I'm happy about that. But I've decided that I'd like to have a group of readers to interact with and give my books to for reviews.

I have 4 full-length novels scheduled to come out in 2016, two self-published and two traditionally published.

3 of them are romance novels: A contemporary from Cleis Press in July 2016, and two more of my western inspirational romances under my pen name, Liz Isaacson, coming in February and May 2016.

My last novel is RIFT, a YA time travel thriller coming from Jolly Fish Press in the fall.

I also have 6 anthology collections coming out in 2016. All 6 of them are romance anthologies.
1. Sweet & Sassy Beach anthology (sweet and sassy romance): April 2016
2. Western romance anthology: April 2016
3. Hot & Haunted romance anthology: October 2016
4. City Christmas anthology (all written by me, contemporary romance under Elana Johnson): November 2016
5. Country Christmas anthology (all written by me, western inspirational romance under Liz Isaacson): November 2016
6. The Knight Before Christmas anthology (Knight Brothers contemporary romance, under Elana Johnson): November 2016

So here's how things will run -- in my head, it's this perfect system, much like Santa's workshop. Haha! 

I'm setting up a private FB group where you can get these new releases for FREE! It'll run like a "book of the month" club, where a forthcoming title will be available each month. You can read as many of my books (for free!) as you wish, even if it's not their assigned month. I have a pretty large backlist. :)

What I need from you: Reviews!

Reviews are an author's best friend. They determine if advertising newsletters (like BookBub) will run ads for titles, if other people will buy the book, etc.

So for every book I give you, I'd love to have a review listed on Amazon. (I'm specifically looking for reviews on Amazon for 2016, not Goodreads.) If the book is a new release, I'd like the review to be listed during the first 5 days of the book's release. I will give you lots of reminders, of course, via the private FB group when the books are releasing. You'll have plenty of time to read the titles in advance.

You decide which books you want. You structure your reading around your life, vacations, etc. I'm excited to have more direct contact with my readers, and I'm willing to give my books away in order to get reviews.

If you're interested, please sign up in this form, and I'll add you to the private Facebook group!

Fireworks in July!

Okay, as we head into the 4th of July weekend, I hope you'll pencil some time on Monday, July 7 for an amazing Facebook event -- Fireworks in July!

A bunch of clean romance authors, yours truly included, are hosting a party where we'll have giveaways all day as each author hosts. You'll get to chat, comment on photos, win books, and enter to win a $100 Lindt chocolate gift basket!! JOIN THE EVENT HERE.

It is going to be awesomesauce. It's "Fireworks in July" because it's romance, and holidays, and fun!

I hope you'll join the event and come chat with me on Monday between 1 - 2 pm eastern time.

Using Facebook and Goodreads In Your Marketing

Okay, so there are some free resources out there that you can use to help reach people that are outside your blog/twitter/Facebook range. Because, really, that's what it's all about. Trying to get your book in front of as many people as possible.

I think Goodreads and Facebook are two places you should consider using more in-depth if you haven't yet. You can also purchase ads on Goodreads and Facebook, but that's a step above this. (I've had some very good results with my ads, but we can talk about that another day.)

Goodreads.
1. Upload an excerpt. This is a new service, and it's free. I've found that a PDF works/looks best, and you can upload the entire book and then choose to only show a certain percentage of it, so it's probably a 5-minute job to do this.

Then, what I do, is advertise using the word "free" in my ad. Like, "Fans of The Hunger Games and Matched, read the first two chapters of POSSESSION, a dystopian novel, for free." (Or something more eloquent... But I definitely reference the best-sellers!)

I've had over 40,000 views in a single day on an ad like that. And all I did was upload the first two chapters of POSSESSION--which has been free on my website for over a year anyway. But it's getting it into the hands of READERS in a place where READERS hang out.

And that's Goodreads.

How: On your author dashboard, under your book title, there's a link that says "Add ebook". Click there and follow the directions to upload an excerpt. Seriously. It's five minutes.

2. The Goodreads Giveaway. We've talked about this before, so I won't go into tons of detail here (you can check this post if you missed it), but I think the giveaways are invaluable on Goodreads. And they'll cost you very little--mailing costs only.

Facebook.
1. Make a quiz. Teens hang out on Facebook, not twitter. So while a lot of us like twitter better, if you're writing YA novels, you need to become acquainted with Facebook. You can make quizes on Facebook that you can then advertise on your page.

How: Basically, all you have to do is type "quiz" in the search box at the top of your Facebook window. Find a quiz making app you like, and go to town.

2. Customize, customize, customize. You can upload covers on the new page layout. Do it. Make a nice one (or have one made), and upload it.

You can add custom tabs on your page. I like using the apps "Static HTML" and "My Tab". (To find these apps, just type them into the search box at the top of your Facebook window. Go to their page, and click the "Add this app to your page" button.) You can hide things behind gates this way, which means people have to "like" your page to see the content. And I'm no genius with HTML, but you know who is?

Blogger.

That's right. BLOGGER.

I open my blog that I use for practice and upload photos, type in what I want, make them the color and size I want, everything. I can preview it all in blogger. Then I simply go into the HTML tab, copy the HTML code, and paste that into the HTML window on Facebook.

Save, and ta-da! You have a fully customized page on your Facebook page. FOR FREE. It's almost like you could take your FB page and make it your website...

3. Post often. I try not to be obnoxious, and I try to post things I think my fans will like. My personal goal is to post twice a day--once before work and once before bed. I try to post about my book, my real life (without getting too personal), other YA authors, books, reading, The Hunger Games, or whatever I think my fans will like.

Everything is not about my book, my events, etc. My personal philosophy on Facebook is the same as here on the blog: I try to post 5 times about other things before I pimp my book, or event, or free short story, or whatever again. I want people to interact with me, not tune me out.

So, are you using Goodreads and Facebook to your full advantage? Hopefully you can now!

A Season of Thanksgiving

Okay, so November is one of my favorite months ever. It's not really because of Thanksgiving, but I do have a lot to be thankful for this year. My first book got published. I visited more cities this year (Phoenix, New York, Las Vegas, New Orleans, San Diego, and Denver) than I have in the past decade. No lie.

In addition to a few other big moments in my life, I signed with my agent in November.

Yeah, November is a great month.

And I've decided that you all get to benefit from my November love-fest. So, each Friday from now until the end of the year (skipping some holiday Fridays), I will be giving something away. Could be a book, or a piece of jewelry, or whatever.

Today's prize is a bar code ring and a bar code bracelet.

If you've read Possession, you know where these bar coded things come from. If you haven't read Possession, well, you should get on that. ;)

For the duration of this Thankful Giveaway, there's only one way to enter: through the Possession Facebook fanpage. You do NOT have to like the page to be entered (but I would love it if you'd like the page), but there will be activities associated with each giveaway.

To participate this time around, all you need to do is comment on the fanpage wall about what you're most thankful for right now. (Open from now until next Thursday night.) That's it. Then I'll know that you want to be entered to win the bar code jewelry.

Then, stay tuned to the fanpage for more happenings--every day, with giveaway announcements on Fridays.

Oh! And I'm giving away a signed hardcover of CROSSED. Click here to enter to win that.

So...what are you most thankful for right now?

The World of Possession

Okay, so today is March 7. It's the three-month mark until Possession comes out on June 7.

In honor of that, I'm going to be doing a monthly contest: One that launches on March 7th (that's today), one on April 7th, and one on May 6th.

All three contests will be run through the Possession Facebook fanpage. So you can comment here--and you know I love your comments--but if you want to enter and win, you have to do it on the FB fanpage.

Here's what we're doing this month: Your greatest POSSESSION.

In the dystopian society of Possession, everything is mandated by someone else. Someone smarter than you. A Thinker. What classes you take. What you wear. Who you get to hang out with. With that in mind, this contest is going to focus on one particular banned item.

From Possession, where Vi (the female MC) describes something Jag (the male MC) is wearing:

He wore a necklace. Jewelry is against the rules in the Goodgrounds.

But here was a boy. Wearing jewelry. The necklace didn’t hang down onto his chest, but barely encircled his throat. It looked like it choked him—almost. The white rocks were shaped like cylinders with different colored jewels alternating between them. Red, blue, purple, and orange. The gems sparkled even though there was no light source in the shelter. Almost like an internal light radiated from them.

And for this oh-my-heck-there's-only-three-months-until-Possession-comes-out contest you can win one of Jag's chokers!

This is not my sexy neck. But yowsa! That is a sexy necklace.

To enter:
1. Go to the Possession Facebook fanpage. Like it.
2. On the FB fanpage DISCUSSION tab, join the discussion and tell us your greatest possession.
3. Do this by Friday, March 25.
4. A winner will be drawn for this fabulous against-the-rules necklace and announced on the Facebook fanpage wall on Monday, March 28.

You can tweet or blog or facebook about the contest, but I'm not doing extra entries. Yeah, I am just that lazy (and not that smart).

Can you imagine living in a world where you can't even wear jewelry?

Also, get thee over to the WriteOnCon site! Major announcement today! MAY-JOR.

And winners! These five people have won signed copies of THE LIAR SOCIETY by Lisa and Laura Roecker. Please email me (elanajohnson(at)gmail(dot)com with your mailing address.)
1. Tere Kirkland
2. Gabrielle at Biased Book Reviews
3. Jennie Englund
4. Aik at The Bookaholics
5. Peggy Eddleman

Dear Self: Social Media

Okay, so with this month being NaNo and all (17,834 words, baby!), I've been giving a lot of thought to the social media in my life. I'm going to give you some things I wish I knew when I first entered this crazy social networking arena.

What I Wish My Past-Self Knew About Social Media:
1. Pick what works for you. Don't try to be everywhere, doing everything. It's impossible, and you'll just end up feeling like a raging loser.

You like blogging. Focus on that. You like Facebook. Do that. You hated twitter, remember? But now you like it, because it's quick, it's painless, it's fun. So don't judge your social media so harshly--or so quickly.

2. Remember that the Internet is a public battlefied. All online posts, tweets, and statuses should pass this question before being posted: "If I Google myself next week, will I be embarrassed by this post/tweet/status update?"

Only proceed if the answer is "No."

3. Be yourself. No one can be you the way you can. You can't imitate someone else and expect results. And BTW and FYI, most people can sniff a fake out of a garbage dump. So yeah.

4. Along with acting authentically, be genuine. Bambi's advice really applies here. If you can't say something nice, maybe you shouldn't say it. (See #2 above.) Of course, things are different for those in your Inner Sanctum of Trust. And everyone knows that IST's only communicate behind the scenes.

5. Respond/Repay/Interact as much as possible for you, your life, your schedule, your family, your writing time, etc. Everybody loves email as much as you do. Everyone wants a comment on their post. Everyone (even adults, heck, ESPECIALLY adults) wants to know they're valuable, appreciated, loved.

Do what you can. Hope that who you miss, someone else will pick up.

These are my big five. What do you have to add re: Social Media? Do you have rules for yourself? What are they?

And, oh my flippin' heck! You can preorder POSSESSION now! It came up on Amazon and Barnes & Noble yesterday. Trust me when I say I freaked out, complete with tears and everything. I just felt deeply how truly lucky/blessed I am.

'Fess Up Friday

Okay, so my inbox is cursed. Maybe yours is too. Mine's got this weird virus that's keeping all the important emails out. Like it's killing them off or something.

I've been standing in the shower for a few extra minutes lately, mentally pep-talking myself into checking my email. "This is it. You're gonna have the best email ever today. The best. Ev. Er. Get out of the shower already."

So I get out of the shower. Get dressed. Take a deep, cleansing breath and open the Internet browser.

Hallelujah!

I have 34 emails!

All from Facebook. It's how I get email.

Hey, it's better than nothing, right? At least that's what I've been telling myself.

My name is Elana Johnson, and I make sure my inbox is full by participating on Facebook. *cheers, applause, knowing looks from fellow Facebook Anonymous members*

What's your dirty little secret? I know you have one. Tell...tell...

Social Networking is Killing Me

Because I was gone all last week, I wasn't able to do any of my facebooking, twittering, blogging, commenting, forum posting, etc.

And you know what? I didn't miss it. In fact, now that I'm back, the weight of social networking is so heavy, I'm considering scaling back. Like way back.

Because I'm tired of social networking. Are any of you? What are your best social networking stories? Met anyone amazing? Crit buddies? Agent convos? Basically, I need you to sell me on this whole thing again, because I really didn't miss it and just thinking about starting up again has me shaking.

Thoughts?

Blog Chain - Marketing Me

Okay, so this round of the blog chain started with H.L. Dyer. I think she's trying to kill me. Or something. Then everyone else in the chain is just fabulous, leaving me to look and sound like a complete loozr. Posting before me was Abi. And up next is Terri.

So here goes...I feel like George Costanza.

Not in my real life, but in my writing life. Because I'm sort of in between manuscripts right now. At least I don't live with my parents.

I don't really know how to market my manuscript. I've made a (totally lame) book trailer for the novel I just shelved. I loved Jess's ideas on necklaces and perfumes, but I don't have anything like that. Then we had songs from Kat and that totally rocked my world. I don't really have anything at this point in my life. Christine had some great ideas, and I'm going to be checking out the books she mentioned. But other than that...

What I do have is...me.

I think I'm my best marketing tool. I'm on facebook, myspace, twitter, I have this blog, I've written articles, I contribute to the QueryTracker blog. I'm trying to get myself out there. I'm pretty real. What you see is generally what you get. I have a unique name, so it's easy to Google.

I'm trying to network. That's it. That's my marketing plan. Have a recognizable name with established avenues to promote my novel once it hits the shelf. So far...it's a work in progress, just like everything else in my writing life.

What are you doing as far as marketing goes?

Show vs. Tell Courtesy of the Screenwriting Guild – and Facebook – and an old high school friend

I like to think of myself as a student of writing. I often tell my writing buddies that I've learned more about writing this year than I thought a person could know about writing. And I've just learned something else. (Including how to use the word "writing" four times in two sentences.)

I was chatting on Facebook the other night--no surprise there--with a friend of mine from high school. As if that's not scary enough, he said something that made me pause and think. T-man is wise beyond his years, even if he doesn't know it. And he's younger than me, and that's even more terrifying. I have an awesome picture of us at a dance where I'm kicking this fake glass thing with T-man, so we go way back. And that picture will never surface, so don't even ask.

So we were chatting about writing and he said he's written some screenplays. I was impressed, because I don't know the first thing about screenwriting. He said, "You can't say, 'He was mad.' You can only write what a camera can see or a microphone can hear."

I was like, "Wow. That sounds hard." Then I realized that that's exactly what I should be doing in my fiction writing. It's the old "show vs. tell" mantra. So yesterday I opened a little snippet of my writing to send to my critique group. I noticed how many things I had in just six pages that a camera wouldn't be able to see and a microphone wouldn't be able to hear.

*head desk*

But I'm all about applying what I learn, so I'll go through my stuff to make it more showy. Does that mean I'll cut every thumping heart? Probably not, because I'm all about emotion in writing, too. But it was a good reminder of what I should be doing in my writing.

And on a bonus side note: I've finally realized the power of Facebook. I still don't know what to do with the vampire clans, and I haven't found scrabble yet, but at least I've gleaned something from my Internet addiction. Silver lining, baby. Silver lining.