Letting Taylor Swift’s Genius Guide Holiday Choices

  

                                                                                  Vintage Vroman’s Bookstore Chirstmas Stars (Pasadena, CA.)

A Book-ish Nudge for Making Books Work for Christmas

                 

Letting Taylor Swift’s Genius Guide Holiday Choices

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson, multi-award-winning writer of fiction, poetry, 
and the HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers

          I used to think Taylor Swift’s “Last year I gave you my heart” the most unlikely Christmas song of all time. Kind of a downer, you know?  I changed my mind when I started noticing how she markets, her interest in doing good, her focus, her assertiveness. And she sure had a knack for turning a less-than-upbeat situation into song.

So as Christmas approached, I started thinking about those marketing chops of hers, how I could take her advice even though I am way past the fawning fan stage of life. She didn’t give up on romance; instead she would find a new love who would understand the true spirit of giving and was figuring out how to make it work even better. So, lucky you! I’ve reduced it in number, mostly related to some holiday publishing I’ve done in the past—complete Taylor-inspired improvements 

OLD HOLIDAY IDEAS WITH NEW TWISTS

Magdalena Ball, CompulsiveWriter.com founder and editor and I—reached across hemispheres to write our own little book called a chapbook to use instead of costly holiday greeting cards but it can be adapted to work for any business or profession. For authors it will be applying a part of their own working lives to their own holiday marketing/public relations campaign. It’s called…

Publishing a book and, yes it can be used by anyone who wants to try it.  Magadalena and I used Amazon’s KDP (Kindle Digital Platform) feature to publish a book. What an idea! The “author” of this book can make a small project of it, let it grow, or plan a large one and run with it.  Start collecting photos, poems, old adages that apply to your theme—your own special holiday,  friendships, businesses, whatever. Assemble them into a Word file—one for every person on your list or a more general one. Depending on the size they can turn out to be everything from a booklet to an inexpensive coffee-table type book.  C’mon. You have nearly a year to add to your first draft and it’s all free except for the copies you end up ordering for your own needs and they are wholesale. You only need about twenty-five pages to meet Amazon’s minimum page count. Here are some time-saving and value-added ideas:

 

~To make some more personal, I sign, date, and maybe add a little Santa sketch I can draw in five seconds flat.
~To suggest a handmade quality, you can add a permanent book mark made of grosgrain ribbon or velvet ribbon.
~ As an Amazon prime member I occasionally  let Amazon sent e-books to people I thought of last minute using their gift-message feature. It was nearly instantaneous and it saved shipping costs. 
~Books could be used as charity gifts using personalization…or not. Titles, themes, and dedications can be changed for special editions. Inexpensive Avery-type bookplates could be enclosed or three-dimensional stickers could be ordered for special needs. Books in quantity enough for residents of local senior centers. Consider getting permission to including a sugar free holiday cookie.
~Thanks to Taylor, I promise not to forget a special thank you to whoever tosses the daily news onto my front porch this year, maybe put a bow on it made with the plastic bags they deliver our news in each day as a little joke.

Booklets like these can be used for a variety of non-seasonal promotions. I have a motto: No real, live person should ever leave one of my classes, seminars, book signings, or writers’ conference presentations without a “keeper” in their hands or pressed into their notebooks.

 

PS: Let’s all plan to give 20% more books as gifts this year. If lots and lots of authors did this, it might mean fewer layoffs than originally planned for publishing and their related industries like libraries.

PPS: “Christmas in July” is not just a retailing gimmick. It  is the time to pitch holiday stories and promotions for your business, your book, or your profession to magazines and other print media. I know because I worked for Good Housekeeping magazine after starting a writing career at a daily newspaper and had a hard time adjusting my internal clock to such a lengthy deadline. Think both pre- and post-holiday needs. Think worldwide. Think national. Think local. As ideas come to you, add alerts to your calendar. Don’t be chintzy with the details. Busy minds get forgetful. If you’re great at public relations, you’ll also send one of those self-made books we talked about to the editors who accepted and wrote your feature story idea after its publish date as a thank you. 

 MORE ABOUT WRITERS ON THE MOVE BLOG’S CONTRIBUTOR

Carolyn Howard-Johnson brings her experience as a publicist, journalist, marketer, and retailer to the advice she gives in her #HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers and the many classes she taught for nearly a decade as instructor for UCLA Extension’s world-renown Writers’ Program. All her books for writers are multi award winners including the first edition of The Frugal Book Promoter, now in its third edition. Her The Frugal Editor, also in its third edition, won awards from USA Book News, Readers’ Views Literary Award, the marketing award from Next Generation Indie Books and others including the coveted Irwin award.

 

Too Late for This Christmas? Tip for Writers: Amazon offers a new service absolutely free. In addition to an author’s regular buy page, it is a special page that lists all e-books in a series. Don’t think of it as a page for a genre fiction series only.  The publisher of my HowToDoItFugally Series did this one for my series of books for writers at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTXQL27T, but it’s available for indie authors, too. Either way, the service is absolutely free! Amazon also produces the triptych images for these pages free. For Most Everyone on Your Christmas List: How about a last-minute book of Christmas poetry from Magdalena Ball’s and my holiday entry in their Celebration Series of chapbooks, paper or e-book. Find it at https://bit.ly/BloomingRed or see the whole series here. The series also includes chapbooks for Women’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and, yep...Christmas.

Flashbacks and Information Dump

 

Contributed by Karen Cioffi, Children's Writer

If you're a storyteller, you face a constant balancing act: how to convey essential background information without disrupting the flow of the narrative. 

Flashbacks and information dumps are two commonly used writing techniques, each with its own set of benefits and pitfalls. And knowing when to use each is essential for maintaining reader engagement and story coherence.

But how do you tell the difference between them?

FLASHBACKS

When incorporated ‘the right way,’ flashbacks can provide valuable insights into a character's past experiences, motivations, and emotions. They allow readers to delve deeper into the story, bringing a broader understanding of the characters and plot. 

However, mishandled flashbacks can disrupt the story's rhythm, pulling readers out of the present action and causing confusion.

INFORMATION DUMP

Compared to flashbacks, information dump entails the straightforward delivery of background information, often through exposition or dialogue. 

While these dumps can effectively convey necessary details, they run the risk of overwhelming readers with an excessive amount of information all at once. This can lead to boredom or detachment from the story, as readers may feel immersed in facts rather than the narrative.

Another risk of this writing technique is that the information being presented can feel forced, as if it’s there just to inform the reader of something the author doesn’t think the reader will get otherwise.

Don’t underestimate your reader.

TWO STRATEGIES TO USE TO DETERMINE WHICH IS WHICH

So, how can authors determine whether a particular narrative element is a flashback or an information dump, and how can they integrate these techniques seamlessly into their storytelling?

1. First and foremost, it's essential to consider the purpose of the narrative element in question. 

Is it primarily serving to convey a character's backstory and emotional journey, or is it purely for an explanation aimed at providing essential plot details? 

If it’s to enhance the emotional journey, it's likely a flashback. If it’s to provide an explanation, it may be an information dump.

2. Next, it’s wise to pay attention to the timing and pacing of the narrative. 

Flashbacks are most effective when strategically woven into the story at moments that enhance tension, deepen characterization, or clarify current events. 

On the flip side, information dumps should be introduced sparingly and woven organically into the narrative flow to avoid overwhelming readers.

HOW TO USE THESE TECHNIQUES

Flashbacks

Crafting seamless transitions between the present story and flashback sequences is crucial for maintaining reader engagement. 

Establish clear cues:
Using cues, such as changes in tense or formatting, to signal the shift in time and place will ease the reader into the transition. In addition, ensure that each flashback serves a specific narrative purpose and advances the story in some meaningful way rather than merely providing background filler.

Dialogue:
Using dialogue, including internal dialogue, can also be a powerful tool for conveying backstory and world-building without resorting to information dumps. 

Authors can avoid the pitfalls of excessive explanations by allowing characters to reveal key details through natural conversation, keeping readers invested in the story.

Where to Place Them for the Best Effect: 
The timing of flashbacks is vital. Introduce them at moments of heightened tension or emotional significance, where they can provide context or insight into the character's current predicament. 

Avoid interrupting the flow of action with unnecessary detours into the past.

Information Dump

Balancing information download: 
Information dumps, while sometimes necessary, should be approached with caution. Rather than dumping a large amount of information all at once, sprinkle essential details throughout the story in digestible bites. 

Use a mix of exposition, dialogue, and sensory details to weave background information into the story, ensuring that it feels natural and fundamental to the story's progression.

Show, Don't Tell: 
Instead of relying solely on exposition to convey backstory, strive to show key events through vivid imagery and sensory details. 

Allow readers to experience past events alongside the characters. By engaging the reader's imagination, you can avoid the pitfalls of dry exposition and create a deeper reading experience.

Dialogue as Exposition: 
Dialogue can be a powerful tool for conveying information in a natural manner. 

Use character interactions to reveal backstory, world-building details, and character relationships. This will allow readers to gather essential information through the subtleties of conversation. 

By incorporating exposition into dialogue exchanges, you can maintain story momentum while deepening characterization and moving the plot forward. Just don’t overdo it.

SUMMING IT UP

The bottom line: to get a handle on balancing flashbacks and information dumps, you’ll need to pay careful attention to narrative structure, pacing, and characterization. 

By carefully using these techniques and prioritizing the needs of the story and its characters, you can create a compelling story that holds the reader from beginning to end.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author, working ghostwriter, rewriter, and coach (picture and chapter books). If you need help with your story, visit Writing for Children with Karen Cioffi. 

You can check out Karen’s books HERE.

You can connect with Karen at:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karencioffiventrice 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kcioffiventrice/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karencioffikidlitghostwriter/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KarenCV