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by Cynthia Owens @EfficiencyADict As writers, we regularly hear about branding, but what is it really? Simply put, branding is what helps others recognize you. Think about Coca-Cola. You see that looping red font anywhere in the world and you know cold, carbonated refreshment is not far away. Then consider UPS. They deliver 20 million packages and documents worldwide every day. When you see one of those brown trucks pull up to your home, you know a package is coming. But what if their trucks weren�t always that special UPS brown? What if they were different shades of brown or sometimes green? We�d no longer instantly recognize them. They�d blend with the other vehicles on the road. By not being consistent with their branding, they�d lose visibility. That�s not what we want to happen with our writing brands. We want readers to be able to recognize us easily, which requires consistency. Here are two tools to help you solidify and maintain your special brand. A Brand Board It�s time to go...

by Tim Suddeth @TimSuddeth September has arrived. In the air, there�s the sense of pumpkin spice and cooler weather. Where has the summer gone? All the plans, the trips, the whole family gathering together and connecting. Okay, that last one was a bit much. School has or is getting ready to start. For many of us, that means a total eruption of our schedules. We go from a �relaxing� summer to fitting twenty-eight hours into twenty-four hour days. You have so many practices and after school activities to take your kids to, you look into applying for an Uber designation. It�s overwhelming. By lunch of the first day, you�re looking for a way to pull over from reality for just a few moments.  Stop the world. I want to get off. Then that lady, the one with the stylish new haircut and clean car, calls and asks if you can bring refreshments, not packaged cookies, to the soccer game tomorrow. (Laser-beam eyes) This feeling isn�t for women only. Whether it�s caring for a young family, runnin...

by Cynthia Owens @EfficiencyADict All summer we�ve been talking about book launch teams�how to choose members, design your team, and stay sane in the process. With pumpkin spice lattes just a few weeks away, it�s time to wrap up. But now that you have this fabulous book launch team, what do you do with it? How do you motivate your team members, sell your books, and create raving fans in the process? 10 Activities to Do with Your Book Launch Team 1. Do a Facebook Live launch party.  This is a way for team members and other readers to get to know you. They can ask questions, see you as a real person, and get a glimpse of what it�s like to be an author. As discussed in an earlier article , you don�t want to fill your launch team with your best friends, so a live launch party can help you connect with team members and general readers. 2. Encourage meme creation.  Create blank quote pictures that include your website and book name. (See the ones Mesu Andrews did for her latest book...

by Cynthia Owens @EfficiencyAdict We�ve been studying book launch teams for several months. In previous articles, I shared insights on how to run a launch team well from authors Mesu Andrews, Cathy Baker, Lynn Blackburn, and Rachel Dylan. Today, we�re going to focus on tips that make an author�s life easier during a book launch. 1. Guard Your Writing Time There�s always another project in the works. �It�s so easy to get sucked into market, market, market,� Mesu Andrews shared. However, as you launch one book, you may be in the midst of proofing the next one in the series, writing something completely new, or both. Protecting your writing time is critical, which is why this tip is coming in my third post. You need to implement the tips in the first two articles to be sure this one happens. If you haven�t read the other articles in this series, find them here:  Book Launch Teams Part 1�Planning Your Team Book Launch Teams Part 2�Picking Members Easy Does It Note : Launching a book is...