A little over a year ago I had one of my short stories published with a series called Candy Hearts and released by the Wild Rose Press. Each story in the series revolved around Valentines Day, and each had to contain reference to the heart-shaped sugar candies with the goofy sayings on them like: Love U Forever; Be Mine; Take Me, I’m Yours. You get the picture. My story was titled For Keeps and it was a lot of fun to write.
When it came time to promote the story, the other Candy Hearts authors were willing to visit my blog but they only wanted to give me what they called a Media Kit. If I wanted to visit their blogs to promote For Keeps, I had to supply a Media Kit. Known among my friends and family as the Woman Who Needs to Get Out More, I had no clue what to do and was ready to hang it up.
So I asked and one of the authors very kindly showed me how to create a Media Kit. Step by step, cut and paste, be imaginative, she said. And whaddya know, it worked. Within one year I was teaching others how to create a Media Kit for each of their books. I call that Paying It Forward.
Now we come to Twitter, Tweeting and other similar social communication which do not involve dialing a phone. Up until six months ago I had no clue what Twitter or Tweeting meant, beyond a classroom of giggling eight year-olds who recently discovered Justin Timberlake or that man-child Bieber person. Okay, I’ll admit to hearing about tweeting when I tuned into Mike & Mike on ESPN every morning. These two guys tweet their . . . posteriors off several times a day. And it works—for them. Not me, I swore. I’d swallow my tongue before I did this “at hash tag whatever”. Like that’ll work.
Then I was invited to join a group of six authors to create stories for a box-set anthology set in a casino-resort near Niagara Falls in Western New York. One of the rules was each participating author was expected to tweet often, like daily. Okay okay, I grumbled. I’ll do this if I have to. If it kills me. I researched, I practiced, I learned. Now I’m helping others tweet. Wahoo. Let me tell you, I can re-tweet anyone’s butt off.
Facebook? Learned that one, sort of, after much trial and error. Then passed it on.
Pinterest? That, I learned, is soooo much fun, just like friends had been telling me for years. I now have Pinterest boards for each of my books, and I’m scheduled to present an on-line course in the value of creating Pinterest boards—not just for authors but for anyone interested.
By far, the best Paying It Forward concept I now employ is making seat belt cushions for patients who undergo chest surgery [mastectomies, pacemaker insertions, PICC line insertions for chemotherapy]. What began as a simple survival technique to stop the whining from the back seat, “this strap hurts my neck, Nana. Can’t I take it off?” evolved into helping others infinitely less fortunate than I.
Paying It Forward. It works for me.
Hey, you never know.
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I love to hear from readers.
You can find me at:
KatHenryDoran@yahoo.com
my blogs: www.WildWomenAuthorsx2.blogspot.com
www.ApronsWithAttitude2.blgspot.com
Pinterest: www.Pinterest.com/KatHenryDoran
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/WildWomenAuthors
Thanks for inviting me to stop by, Delilah. I appreciate it very much!
Kat
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Thanks so much for having me visit today, Delilah.
This visit has allowed me to pay it forward one more time!
Best
Kat
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I love this blog post! I’ve always found romance writers to be some of the most generous writers around, giving their time and expertise to those still learning. And your seatbelt covers are beautiful (and for such a great reason). Thanks for the feel-good post first thing in the morning!
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Beautiful post. Technology is a challenge but a necessary tool for a writer. Thank you for paying it forward.
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Wonderful post. Promotion is such a learning curve with FB, Twitter, Instagram, and you name it. It feels good to have learned and passed it on. I’m with you, pass it on! 🙂
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Thanks for a great post ~ what a great way to pay if forward.
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Great post. We need more people like you in our world. I do find that romance writers are a very helpful group. One only has to ask to receive help and advice.
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Great post. Thanks for paying it forward when time is so precious!! (I wish I could have caught those tweeting lessons 🙂 ) The kudos go not just to the social media sharing. The sewing you do–the seat belt cushions and other items–so very thoughtful and creative. Truly a blessing for those you help.
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What a wonderful thing to do!
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Many thanks to all who have stopped by and left comments: Charlotte, Tena, C.B., Jennifer, Katie and Buttons. I appreciate everything you said as well as the support.
Kat
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Great post. I use Pinterest and Facebook, but haven’t quite gotten a handle on Twitter yet. I have an account, but I feel like there’s a million conversations all going on at once and I can’t keep up with the ones I’m interested in. I usually just retweet a few things here and there and that’s it.
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Fantastic post. I’m proud of you for conquering and learning promo (something I can’t do). Paying it forward is a wonderful thing to do.
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Pam!
so great to hear from you. Hope all is well up in Maine. Thank you for stopping by to leave a comment.
My advice on promo is to start slow, learn and master one technique at a time, like Tweeting. Once you have that down to your satisfaction, move on to the next, such as Pinterest or setting up a blog and opening it to other authors, particularly those who have helped you in the past.
You’ll be helping them and yourself.
Paying it forward.
Good luck.
Kat